I grew a 188 stone British-record breaking monster pumpkin in three months - people ask if it’s real

A monster pumpkin weighing more than a tonne has broken a British record and was so big a telehandler was needed to winch it onto scales at a country show.

Twin brothers Ian and Stuart Paton, 63, spent three hours a day for three months cultivating the gigantic 188 stone (1198.2kg) squash in Lymington, Hampshire. They then "very carefully" drove four-and-a-half hours to the Malvern Autumn Show on September 26 in a bid for it to be crowned the "world's heaviest pumpkin".

Unfortunately, they fell just short of the world record 1,247kg, but were delighted to set a new British record with their creation which weighs the same as a small car.

Ian said: "We put the seeds down in April and then pollinate in June, they are quite fast growing and this one is 113 days old.

"We drove it up in the back of a large Volvo very carefully, staying at around 50mph. You get some strange looks from other drivers, that's for sure. Some people pull over further up the road and then follow you again just to get another look. They shout 'is that real?' and we shout back 'yep'.”

Thousands of people are expected to flock to the Worcestershire town to catch a glimpse of some gigantic greens from September 27 (Friday) and over the weekend.