A TRICK to stop Halloween turning into a plumbing nightmare has been revealed.

Pumpkin lanterns are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, but this has brought the problem of what to do with the sticky waste from inside the vegetables.

What many people do is simply wash it down the sink.

But be warned - when pumpkin pulp enters the drains, the orange flesh hardens and sticks to the pipes, leading to blockages.

Drain Doctor general manager Robin Banks said: "Instead of carving your jack-o'-lantern over the kitchen sink, try doing it on a pile of newspaper on the kitchen table or worktop.

"Carefully wrap the pulp and then either bin it or - better still - put it in the compost heap.

"The paper as well as the pumpkin residue will rot down nicely over the winter."