Kidsgrove gardener Les Goldspink's 96lb halo pumpkin

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Kidsgrove gardener Les Goldspink's 96lb halo pumpkin squashes the competition – but have you grown a bigger vegetable?

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http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276370/Article/images/23593397/7382818-large.jpgKEEN gardener Les Goldspink has won a contest with his 96lb pumpkin – and is now auctioning of the monster vegetable to raise money for charity.

The Royal Mail worker went head-to-head with 12 friends at his Kidsgrove allotment site to see who could grow the heaviest pumpkin in time for Halloween.

After carefully selecting the perfect seed before lovingly tending to it for months, the pumpkin grew to an impressive 6st 12lb to earn him a cash prize.

Now the 59-year-old is to sell the giant to the highest bidder with the money going to the Royal British Legion and Help For Heroes.


Les, of Sussex Drive, Kidsgrove, said: "I've grown a few pumpkins over the years for the grandchildren at Halloween so when someone from the allotments suggested a competition I thought I'd give it a go.

"I got a packet of seeds and we all picked one out. We made sure we all used the same seeds and grew them in the same soil to make sure it was a fair contest.

"We paid £5 to enter and the winner got the money, but it wasn't really about that. It was the fun of it.

"All of us were peaking over the fences to look at each other's pumpkins. We all got quite competitive."

Les, who has had a plot at the Lamb Street allotments for years, believes a 'secret ingredient' he adds to his plant food helped him clinch the top spot.

He added: "I'm not telling anybody what it is but it obviously worked.

"This is the biggest pumpkin I have ever grown, it's twice as big as the ones I've had before.

"I've already had a lot of interest from people wanting to buy the pumpkin, one lady offered me £25 for it, but whatever I sell it for I will give to charity."

Fellow gardener Ernie Rigby finished in second place with his 84lb pumpkin.

The 69-year-old, of Whitehall Avenue, Kidsgrove, said: "Mine didn't look that much smaller that Les's but it was the weight that counted.

"I've entered country shows with my vegetables before but this was the first time I've ever grown a pumpkin so I was impressed with how big it turned out.

"I didn't really do anything special so it was more luck than anything."

The retired postman added: "A couple of people have asked me if they can have it and I said yes, but it's still at my house at the moment.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it now, but it's far too big to turn into a lantern for Halloween."

Despite the impressive fruit, Les and Ernie still have some way to go before they stand a chance of beating the world record, which is currently held by a 2,032lb pumpkin.

It was grown by American Tim Mathison at the Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Park in Napa, California, last year.