British grandfather smashes pumpkin world record by growing gourd as heavy as a hippo

A British gardener has once again set a new world record by growing the largest pumpkin ever produced.

Ian Paton, 65, said he was delighted after claiming the world title in his very first season competing without his twin brother Stuart.

He spent up to six hours every single day tending to the 2,856.8-pound (1,295.8kg) specimen, which weighs roughly the same as a female hippopotamus.

Mr Paton has now grown the three heaviest pumpkins ever recorded.

The giant fruit amazed his young granddaughters, whom he called immediately after winning the contest to share his excitement.

This year marked his first solo attempt afterStuart chose to retire his shears and travel internationally, leaving their Hampshire hometown of Lymington.

However, Mr Paton said that he was pleased to show that he could take on the demanding task entirely on his own.

Throughout five decades of joint efforts, the brothers grew five of the top 10 heaviest pumpkins in history.

As a duo, they claimed three world titles alongside 10 European championship crowns.

Their previous record-breaker, grown in 2025, weighed 2,819.8 pounds (1,278.8kg) – a weight comparable to two adult bulls.

Though Mr Paton was working without his twin, he enjoyed support from his granddaughters, five-year-old Etta and seven-year-old Martha Syrett.

The record was officially set at the Wargrave Nursery Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off in Berkshire on Saturday 3 October.

Mr Paton realised the specimen was exceptional when the telehandler used to lift it triggered its weight overload alerts.

He said: "I'm super happy. On Saturday we broke the world record.

"I knew it was a big one as when I lifted it with the telehandler, all the warning lights came on like a Christmas tree, saying it was too heavy."

He said that growing the pumpkin was an "immense" amount of work.

"It's five or six hours of work every day for two months. It's nice to know I can do it myself.

"A lot of that work is burying the vines so it gets more roots – that's where the size comes from.

"The pumpkin grows about a foot and a half or 40cm a day in every direction so it starts to get to be a lot.

"I think someone Googled it and said it's the size of a female hippo. It's certainly very heavy.

"The grandkids were amazed. I put it on a WhatsApp call to them when I won and you could hear them shouting down the phone.

"Between Stuart and myself we have got five out of the top 10 heaviest pumpkins in the world.

"But now I have grown the top one, two and three in the world. That feels really good.

"It feels especially good knowing the Americans haven't got it. I have a lot of friends there who grow pumpkins.

"It's a very friendly sport and everyone works together, so it's not like other sports."