GIANT pumpkins, showstopping carrots and dramatic floral displays helped draw thousands of people to the Malvern Autumn Show

Up to 60,000 people are expected to visit the Three Counties Showground this weekend to enjoy the last food, horticulture and nostalgia show of the season.

TV chef Tom Kerridge gave visitors cooking tips today while Strictly Come Dancing star Anton Du Beke will hold dance workshops tomorrow. 

A monster red cabbage was so big that its grower David Thomas won a world record at the UK giant veg championships, held at the show.

Three other world records were achieved at the show for the longest radish, longest carrot and longest beetroot.

Kevin Fortey won the heaviest bell pepper, one of the new category his organisation giantveg.co.uk had sponsored, while his son Jamie Courtney-Fortey, aged 10, won biggest sunflower.

The RHS flower show also took place with displays from 50 exhibitors. 
Hampshire Carnivorous Plants won the best in show for Matt Soper.

There were 22 gold medals awarded, along with 14 silver-gilt, 10 silver and four bronze.

Maggie Knight, from Abergavenny, said: "We come to the spring and autumn shows. The plants are beautiful and it's got something for everyone.

Janet Ward, who was visiting from Tewkesbury with Joyce Peters, said: "We always look forward to it. To come to something like this is a wonderful opportunity to see the level of skills that many people have got that you wouldn't normally see."

Margaret Jay was looking at the vegetables at the National Vegetable Society Midland Branch championships.

She said: "It's fantastic. How do you grow that?"

Marcus Powell won the collection of five kinds of vegetables.

He said: "It takes a lot of hard work."

Meanwhile Mark Hall, who won the best stumped carrots, said he was thrilled after initially thinking his carrots hadn't grown that well.

Visitor Patricia Ackroyd said: "It's got such beautiful scenery and there's a really interesting variety of things."

Also at the show was a host of vintage caravans along with a mid western gundog display.