THEY loaded it on with a tractor and a muck rake, it was unloaded by a forklift truck and on the way they got lost, but Frank and Linda Baggs’ effort to transport their giant pumpkin all the way from Dorset to Malvern Autumn Show at the weekend finally paid off.

The 1,341lb (609kg) monster grown at home by their son Mark has been officially declared Europe’s biggest.

Raised in a polytunnel on a diet of cow muck and chicken pellets, the pumpkin took pride of place in the show’s giant vegetable section and drew gasps of amazement from around 60,000 visitors to the event on Three Counties Showground.

Show spokeswoman Sharon Gilbert said: “We were warned it was coming, but our stewards were worried we wouldn’t have any scales man enough to weigh it. Luckily, the Hereford Scale Company came to our rescue and provided a set that didn’t crack under the strain.”

Even so, the giant veg was even bigger than its owners thought. Mrs Baggs said: “We reckoned it was going to be around the 1,200lb mark. We were really surprised when we found out how much it did weigh.

“We brought it up here on a flatbed trailer going very carefully, but then we got lost a few miles from the showground and had to unload it in the dark on Friday night. That was anxious.

“Mark started growing giant vegetables back in 2005 for a laugh and in his first year he produced the world’s heaviest marrow. That got into the Guinness Book of Records. I think it was about 136lb. It’s just gone on from there.”

The family have a 200-strong dairy herd at their farm at Wareham and the by-products from that are their secret ingredient when it comes to producing whopping vegetables.

The two-day show over Saturday and Sunday was a showcase for the best of British produce and in the apples and pears section there was a whole clutch of awards for Broomfields, the Worcestershire growers with orchards at Holt Heath and Cutnall Green, who took best in show for a tray of Gala apples that scored 97.25 marks out of 100 from the judges.

Also among the prize winners was Clive’s Fruit Farm of Upton-upon-Severn, while the award for the heaviest apples, a tray of five Bramleys weighing 8lb 6oz (3.8kg) went to Aldington Fruit Farm of Evesham.

In the Royal Horticultural Flower Show there was another triumph for Owens Bros, of Bevere Green, who were awarded silver-gilt for an exhibit of conifers.

Away from the fruit and veg, one of the most unusual attractions was the mediaeval camp, where a trio of re-enactment societies took onlookers back to the days of knights, serfs and archers. Keeping the warriors fed was Mistress Bridle – by day Patricia Bridle, a schoolteacher from Cardiff – and her husband Mr Bridle, the camp carpenter, also known as Robert Bridle, school caretaker.

Mistress B was slaving over a potage stewpot, in which beef, carrots, onions, and turnips simmered. “They used to keep these going for 10 days, adding extra liquid, vegetables and meat as necessary,” she said.

At the sharper end of cuisine, two top Italian chefs, TV favourite Gennaro Contaldo and Felice Tocchini from Fusion Brasserie at Stoulton, near Pershore, showed how to produce “exquisite regional dishes, using fresh, local produce”.

Fortunately, no one asked them what to do with a 1,300lb pumpkin.

l Show organisers were pleased with how the weekend went. Ms Gilbert said: “Considering the wet weather in the build-up and the difficult financial times, we have been very pleased with how things have gone.

“The sunny skies have put a smile on people’s faces and our attendance figures seem to have held up well.”