October 20, 2016 4.02 pm This story is over 89 months old

Boston residents crown their ‘Pumpking’ in charity fundraiser

Halloween is just around the corner, but monster pumpkins have already made an appearance in Boston to raise money for charity. The monsters were the stars of the show at Boston’s Johnson’s Garden Centre for the Boston Giant Pumpkin Challenge, which aims to raise money for the Pilgrim Hospital Stroke Unit. Allotment gardeners, some working…
Pumpkin king Paul Gilbert, right, with Dave Wright secretary of Wyberton West Road Allotments.

Halloween is just around the corner, but monster pumpkins have already made an appearance in Boston to raise money for charity.

The monsters were the stars of the show at Boston’s Johnson’s Garden Centre for the Boston Giant Pumpkin Challenge, which aims to raise money for the Pilgrim Hospital Stroke Unit.

Allotment gardeners, some working away in secret, have been growing the giants from seed, and the winner was Paul Gilbert, with his pumpkin weighing in at 49.8 kilos (nearly 110 pounds).

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Paul grew his pumpkin on his Wyberton West Road allotment. The allotment site has won £100 in garden vouchers from Johnson’s Garden Centre.

The challenge was thrown down to allotment holders at Willoughby Road, Toot Lane, Witham Way, Cuckoo Land, Spilsby Road and Wyberton West Road and biggest pumpkins from each site were weighed.

A guess the weight of the pumpkin competition and servings of pumpkin soup made by catering students from Boston Collage raised £150.

Organisers thanked the garden centre for its support and Boston College where a special pumpkin dinner is to be served with the main course being provided by Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Jason Atherton, who was a student at the College.