How do you transport a champion pumpkin? On a forklift of course.

In only his second year as a competitive grower, John Crebbin’s pumpkins have been winning prizes at produce shows around the island, including Peel, St John’s, Onchan and Cronk y Voddy.

The latest win was at Andreas Produce Show where his winning entry weighed no less than 125 kilograms.

So how on earth do you get a pumpkin that weighs as much as two full grown adults to a show? How long do they take to grow? And can the same pumpkin be used for more than one show?

Although commonly thought of as a vegetable, pumpkins are actually a fruit.

They are grown from a seed and, unbelievable as it may seem, the seed for John’s latest champion pumpkin was only planted earlier this year, on April 19.

Each pumpkin can only be taken to one show as they start to degrade quite soon after they come out of the ground. In fact, John only cuts his the evening before a show.

He grows his pumpkins inside a polytunnel and it takes three men to drag onto a waiting forklift truck which transfers it into a van to be driven to the show, where it is wheeled inside on a trolley.