EVERY ticket for this year’s Edinburgh Military Tattoo has been snapped up in record time - four months before the annual extravaganza gets under way.

The 208,848 seats for the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade spectacular sold out by lunchtime on Thursday, raking in around £3.9 million.

All previous box office records for the money-spinning event, which generates an estimated £23m for the Capital’s economy, have been shattered.

Organisers today warned fans against trying to buy tickets via on-line auction site eBay, where briefs are already being touted at well over the cover price.

Tattoo chiefs said it was well aware people would be trying to "cash in" on the event in the next few months, but added: "It is very much a case of buyer beware." Organisers of the sold-out T in the Park music festival have already warned fans to be wary of buying tickets on eBay amid fears they could be left with fake briefs.

Last year’s record-breaking Tattoo, which started on August 5, saw tickets completely sold out in advance by June 15.

The 2005 sell-out, tickets for which only went on sale on December 1 last year, is the seventh in succession notched up by the Tattoo, which will run from August 5-27 this summer.

As recently as the 2003 event, tickets were still on sale until just over a week before the world- famous event got under way.

A spokesman for the Tattoo said: "I think we’re seeing the cumulative effect of six consecutive sell-outs, with people realising that if they want to ensure a seat at the Tattoo they will have to act quickly.

"Scotland has a much higher profile in the international marketplace than it did a few years ago thanks to the efforts of the various tourism agencies.

"However, we do genuinely believe that we are getting better at what we do every year."

The only hope now for anyone desperate to see this year’s Tattoo is either to try to obtain last-minute returns or snap up the half-price tickets for the August 4 dress rehearsal, which go on sale on July 25.

The Evening News revealed last year that this year’s Tattoo would be paying tribute to the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and feature a major celebration of the Royal Navy.

The Tattoo will complement a major programme of events being held across Britain in the run-up to the anniversary on October 21.

Among the visiting acts will be the Norwegian King’s Guard, the Russian State Cossack Dance Ensemble and The Imps, a motorcycle display troupe from London’s Docklands.

Brigadier Melville Jamieson, the event’s chief executive and producer, said: "This unprecedented early sell-out underlines the increasing popularity of the Tattoo while demonstrating its commercial importance to both the Edinburgh and Scottish economy."

A spokeswoman for VisitScotland, the national tourism agency, said:

"This year’s record sell-out shows just how valuable the Tattoo is to the reputation of the city as the events capital of Scotland."

Edinburgh’s deputy Lord Provost, Steve Cardownie, said: "This is great news for the Edinburgh Tattoo and the city."