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Twin brothers have smashed records by growing the biggest pumpkin in the UK

The pumpkin weighed in at heavier than two polar bears at a whopping 2,593.7lb.

Emily Sergeant - 14th October 2020

A pair of twin brothers have smashed records by proudly growing the UK’s biggest pumpkin which weighed in at a whopping 2,593.7lb.

Ian and Stuart Paton, from Lymington in Hampshire’s New Forest National Park, have beaten the previous UK record of 2,433lb with their pumpkin which weighed in at heavier than two polar bears, but sadly narrowly missed out on the coveted world record by just 31lb. 

The pumpkin was officially weighed at Pinetops Nursery in Lymington last weekend.

The brothers have long set their sights on breaking the world record – which is currently held by Belgian Mathias Willemijns with a 2,624lb pumpkin grown in 2016 – but although this year’s whopper didn’t make the cut, it still and smashed their previous UK title of 2,433lb.

During the pumpkin’s three-week growing peak, Ian and Stuart said their “incredible beast” was gaining around 51lb a day and they spent around six hours a day tending to it. 

Speaking about the squash, Ian said:” This year our biggest pumpkin was an absolute monster.

“We needed two forklifts to get it out of the greenhouse so we knew it was going to come close to the record. We didn’t quite break the world record this time around, but we are absolutely sure we will get there one day.

“It is just a matter of time.

“We started growing pumpkins over 40 years ago, when our biggest weighed 54lbs, and it is absolutely incredible to think that the pumpkins we grow now can gain around that in weight each day.”

Incredibly, this pumpkin is just one of a crop of four 2,000lb-plus whoppers that the brothers have produced this year, with two of them set displayed at a local nursery for visitors to marvel at.

Ian added: “Once we have grown the pumpkins, they are absolutely no good for eating so we always try to find a way they can be used to raise money for charity. We are not quite sure where the biggest will end up yet but we’re expecting to have lots of interest in the next week or so.”

The brothers also featured live on ITV’s This Morning earlier today to discuss their near world record-breaking attempt and showcase the world’s biggest squash in all its glory.

It is certainly impressive.

This isn’t new territory for the Patons though.

The twins have been growing pumpkins competitively for more than 20 years and have made no secret of their plan to take the world record for the largest ever pumpkin, with Ian saying: “We already have lots of ideas of things we will change and improve for next year,

“We have come so close this time that 2021 really could be the one.”