What a whoppa! Pumpkin weighs in at record 282kg

Len Saint from Wyberton grew the record-breaking fruit for the annual event at Bell's Pumpkin Patch in Benington.

Eager growers from all over the county collected their plants for free a few weeks ago but Holly Bell, of the gardening outlet, said the .wettest October they could remember made the festival 'our most tricky yet'.

"The weather hampered both the set-up and the patch itself," said Holly.

"By the end of the event the Maize Maze was completely flooded, and we ended up wood chipping the whole festival site to enable visitors to keep coming."

However, with a bumper number of entries, Bell’s Pumpkin Patch 2019 brought some new records.

Len's biggest pumpkin ever won the top public prize of £250, sponsored by Duckworths Jaguar Landrover.

The biggest school entry was won by Hawthorne Tree Primary school, again winning £250. This was sponsored by NFU Mutual.

Holly said: "We had by far the most incredible feedback and support from our lovely visitors.

"They embraced the mud, loved the new bale assault course and picked more pumpkins than ever before!

"We have been truly heartened by the support we have received from our visitors. So much so, we are already making plans for next year's event."