WITHIN hours of national news reports on Wednesday about a giant sprout in Cumbria, this "sprout" was left on the doorstep of the Admag office in Briar Close, Evesham, yesterday (Thursday)!

There was no name or address of the grower, but the message on the bag read: "How's this for a sprout. Giant sprout grown in Vale. Enigmatic."

Unlike the Cumbrian variety, which measured 8in in circumference and weighed in at 1.5lbs, the mystery Evesham offering is a whopping 18ins around the middle and weighs in at several pounds.

And that's not at all unusual, says Bill Newman, of Manor Farm, Hinton-on-the-Green.

"I came across them from time to time when we grew a lot of sprouts," he said. "The most likely explanation is that the plant has reverted to its cabbage parentage and produced a cabbage instead of a sprout."

Experts called in to view the Northern sprout considered genetic mutation a possibility because it was near a nuclear power station - perhaps they should just have consulted the experts in the Vale!