A MAGICAL visit from Harry Potter actor Timothy Spall has left locals star-struck.

Timothy – known for his role as Peter Pettigrew in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire and Barry Taylor in all five series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet – arrived in North East Lincolnshire on Friday night, mooring his 30ft Dutch barge at Grimsby Yacht Club.

He and his wife Shane are filming the third series of their BBC Four programme Somewhere At Sea, which follows their journey on the waves circumnavigating Britain in their barge, The Princess Matilda, named after their granddaughter.

They sailed to Grimsby after visiting Hull the day before, and on Saturday – while many were enjoying Cleethorpes Carnival Parade – the couple tucked into a meal at Steels Corner House Restaurant.

Timothy sampled a portion of haddock and chips, arguably Grimsby's most famous dish, and left staff at Steels glowing with delight over his positive feedback.

Afterwards on Twitter, his wife posted: "Just had the best lunch in Steels Corner House in Cleethorpes. Tim says the best haddock and chips in the whole country if not the world!

"My cheese salad had beetroot and boiled egg and wasn't tossed or drizzled in anything, perfect."

Steels manager Ian Stead, who is a fan of the actor, said: "Timothy was a very nice guy. He charmed the staff and seemed completely genuine. He was a real gent.

"He and his wife didn't have to put up the comments about Steels on Twitter, but it sums them up that they did.

"We are very grateful."

The couple also took the opportunity to take a look round a vintage Spider T vessel, which is based in Keadby, North Lincolnshire.

As reported, the vessel set off on the first leg of a voyage to Arbroath, carrying bricks up and down the coast.

It entered Grimsby Fish Docks on Saturday afternoon and Timothy and Shane were invited aboard.

They were impressed by the plushness of the Edwardian interior of the Spider T and posed for a photo with owner Mal Nicholson and John Barwell.

Yesterday, Timothy and Shane sailed into the estuary and visited Spurn Point to chat to the families who live there, after being joined in Grimsby by their cameraman.

Shane posted on their blog: "The weather forecast showed near-perfect conditions, but the estuary did not agree. We had a couple of visitors while I made breakfast. Our first visitor was the local pilots who were intrigued by our boat, so I put the kettle on.

"Half an hour after they left, the other pilot boat dropped by for a chat then the Cleethorpes RLNI RIB pulled alongside. They all seemed to agree the sea was pretty beastly out there.

"The original pilot boat came back about an hour later and said there was a three-metre swell coming from the south east, so we decided we'd stay where we were."

Ian Sanderson, helmsman and crewman for the Cleethorpes RNLI, said: "It is not every day you meet a celebrity out on the Humber.

"The crew I was out with noticed the vessel and recognised it as Timothy's, as they had seen his first series of Somewhere At Sea.

"We did not go aboard as he was moored up at Spurn Point at the time and we could see he was filming. But he did spend ten minutes chatting to us alongside the boat."

The couple are now steadily making their way south. The third series of Somewhere At Sea is set to be aired next year – visit www.spallsatsea.com to read more about their journey.