Two twins from Hampshire have broken their own record for the heaviest pumpkin ever weighed in the UK.
Stuart and Ian Paton officially broke the record at the Autumn Pumpkin Festival in Netley, Southampton, with their giant pumpkin which weighed a staggering 162 stone (2,269 lbs).
The pair, 53, only just broke their previous record by 15 lbs, with their effort last year weighing in at 161 stone (2,254 lbs).
The brothers, from Lymington, claim they can go through up to 100 gallons of water a day to help their vegetables grow. One of the pumpkins can ever grow by as much as 60lbs in one day, according to the twins.
Emilie Smith, 5, takes a close look at the pumpkin which broke the UK record – weighing in at 162 stone (2,269 lbs)
Ralf Hamilton, 3, with the record breaking pumpkin as it was growing in the Paton twin’s garden nursery
Ian said: ‘The hope is to become world champions, that’s the aim, the only aim is to beat the world record and be the champions.
‘We haven’t done that today but we broke the british record, our record and that’s better than nothing.
‘Only just as well – there was only 15 pounds in it.
‘We will keep trying until we smash it, then keep going forever, we’re not giving up anytime soon?
‘It becomes quite technical after a while and takes up a lot of time.
‘My brother Stuart and I probably spend around three hours a day tending to pumpkins, using 100 gallons of water each day.
‘We have to be very careful when moving them because they don’t count towards a record if they break.
The pair said that they first started growing pumpkins ten years ago after going on holiday and seeing for themselves the speed at which they can go.
He added: ‘We went away on holiday and when we got back we rushed down the garden to have a look – and there was this big pumpkin.
‘It wasn’t too huge – it was about 64 pounds, but it had shot up like the stalk in Jack and the Beanstalk.
Stuart and Ian Paton driving from their home in Lymington, Hampshire to the pumpkin festival in Netley
‘It’s amazing watching them grow so much – there’s nothing like it, they’re just incredible.’
The world record for the largest pumpkin is 187.5 stone (2624 lbs), which was grown in Belgium by Mathias Willemijns, but Ian believes he and his brother will soon break that.
He said: ‘There’s no secret to it really, just hard work – each year we better our techniques and make sure we get better, but it’s not easy.
‘We will beat the world record, at this rate we will definitely beat it.’
Ian and Stuart Paton anxiously await the results of the pumpkin weigh-in at the Autumn Pumpkin Festival in Netley
The pair share an embrace after finding out they have been their record from last year
The twins say they can go through 100 gallons of water growing the pumpkins and hope to one day try and break the world record