In Sarteano, a town in the Tuscan countryside, a group of pensioners stare bemused at a sign that reads: "Hogwarts Express: platform 9¾". It's the first Quidditch European Games and 200 players from 12 national squads descended on the town at the weekend.Each team is in one of two groups, A or B, and plays five games before the knockout stages. The top four from each group go through to the quarterfinals.The town's residents seem highly confused. Many have never heard of the Harry Potter-inspired sport."It's a game that's growing in popularity in Italy, but the British and the French are the favourites," said a volunteer at the games.Twenty minutes later the British team storms to victory, beating Ireland 240-0."It's a fun sport," said Jan Mikocajczak, 23, who fits in regular quidditch practice around studying for his maths and computer science degree at University College."Anyone silly enough to play quidditch - after all, it's about running around on a broomstick - has got to have a bit of imagination and a sense of humour."There are about 100000 quidditch players worldwide. The real-life version of the Harry Potter fictional original was created in 2005 and quickly became popular in the UK then in Europe.Although it was born in a children's novel, Quidditch is not a sport for the faint-hearted.In the first half-hour of the competition in Sarteano, a British player stumbled towards the touch line, blood running from a large gash along his cheek.The teams are mixed and made up of seven players, each of whom must hold a broomstick between his or her legs at all times. The game comes to a close only once the snitch, dressed in yellow with a tennis ball suspended in a sock between his or her legs, is caught. - ..