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.
“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.
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“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.
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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 is the UK's biggest pumpkin… but have you grown your own giant veg? Send us your pics and we might feature a few on today's show!
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.”
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Both Manchester United and Manchester City named as teams with the least amount of local fans
Emily Sergeant
Both Manchester United and Manchester City have been identified as being teams with the least amount of local fans, according to a new survey.
We all know that supporting a local team can be seen as a mark of credibility among a certain kind of football fan, while on the flip side of that, not following a local team is often associated with being a ‘glory hunter’. But which Premier League clubs have the highest – and lowest – proportion of supporters living close to home?
Well, YouGov decided to use its profiles data to analyse the fanbases of all 20 Premier League clubs for the 2026-27 season to get the answer to this once and for all.
And it’s fair to say that it’s not looking the best for the Manchester teams.
The study found that, overall, Brighton & Hove Albion is the Premier League’s most local team – with 56% of fans based in the South East.
Sunderland (50%) and Nottingham Forest (49%) supporters are the next-most likely to live in the same region as their teams, followed by Aston Villa, Brentford, Ipswich, Leeds, Fulham, Hull, and Crystal Palace fans rounding out the top 10.
At the other end of the table, Manchester United has the second-lowest proportion of local supporters, with only a quarter based in the North West (23%), with one in six (17%) actually living in London instead.
And then as for Manchester City – who are widely considered to be the most successful team of the modern era – it has ranked fourth-bottom for local fans, as a quarter of the club’s supporters are based in the North West, with a fifth based in London (19%).
But although both United and City have found themselves towards the bottom end of the ranking, they are not the worst offenders.
That title, unfortunately, does belong to another North West team though – Liverpool.
Liverpool is the club with the lowest proportion of ‘local’ supporters, as just a fifth are based in the North West (21%) with the next highest concentration of fans can being found in London.
Featured Image – Johnny Gios (via Unsplash)
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Data reveals Manchester hotel prices have ALREADY surged by 462% on rumoured Oasis tour dates
Emily Sergeant
Manchester hotel prices have apparently already surged by 462% on rumoured Oasis tour dates, some new data has revealed.
Of course, absolutely nothing is set in stone yet and we are still yet to receive any form of announcement.
But with rumours having been swirling for months now that Oasis will be touring again in 2027, and several videos shared on the band’s social media platforms this week also hinting at that, it’s been revealed that searches for ‘when are Oasis tickets going on sale?’ have soared by 5,000% in the last seven days alone.
After recent data has pointed towards soaring searches for tickets, the experts at SeatPick decided to analyse the average cost of accommodation in Manchester on the suspected concert nights in June 2027 to uncover if prices have surged along with the searches.
Data reveals that Manchester hotel prices have already surged by 462% on rumoured Oasis tour dates / Credit: The Manc Group | Simon Emmett (Press Picture)
And lo and behold, it appears that they have.
The ticketing platform has revealed that hotel prices have surged by up to 462% during Oasis’ rumoured concert nights in Manchester.
The rumoured weekend date of 19 and 20 June has experienced the most noticeable price surge – with a two-star hotel costing an average of £216 for just one overnight stay.
The data also reveals that the rumoured finale on the 27 June has just a £95 difference between two-star hotels (£200) and five-star hotels (£295).
“Our analysis uncovered an enormous markup for local accommodation on nights that Oasis is rumoured to perform in Manchester,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO at ticket platform SeatPick.
“Being aware of these accommodation costs and additional expenses can help fans plan and avoid being caught off guard by inflated prices on concert nights.
“To find the best deals on hotels, concertgoers should scan budget chains in the city or look slightly outside of the centre in hotspots served by local bus routes or regional trains, such as Salford and Trafford.
Emily Sergeant -
14th October 2020 
