A RECORD crowd turned out to enjoy an action-packed programme mounted for Pumpkin Week 2016 by Secretts Pick Your Own in Milford.

Not only were many more youngsters keen to join in the fun on offer but it was also a record crop, with the largest pumpkin weighing in at more than 70 kilos.

Managing director Charles Secrett said: This year we raised all the plants in the greenhouse in pots and we had four times as many fruits - it was a field of orange.

“It took two people to roll the largest one onto a pallet and it has gone to a London restaurant.”

Visitors enjoyed trailer rides to see the glasshouses and growing areas on their way to admire the huge field full of pumpkins. They also had an opportunity to climb a straw castle, decorate biscuits, and get to know the friendly animals at Mill Cottage Farm Experience.

As well as admiring the bumper crop, children could sit on top of them, pose beside a ghoulish carved-out giant and feast on pumpkin curry and pumpkin cake.”