This monster pumpkin could smash the UK record after growing to the weight of a small car. Farmer Mark Baggs has spent countless hours nurturing the giant squash after planting it in a 500ft polytunnel six months ago. He estimates it currently weighs 1,500lbs, the same as a Smart Car, but he hopes it will break the UK record of 1,504lbs - or 107 stone. This giant pumpkin could break the UK record after it has grown to be the same weight as a small car. Pictured is Jack Baggs, four, and his sister Ellie-Mae, two, sat on the pumpkin . The pumpkin boasts a 15ft circumference and its roots span the entire length of the polytunnel. It is so heavy it has to be lifted onto a trailer using a forklift truck. But there is some way to go until Mr Baggs, from Wareham, Dorset, smashes the world record - a pumpkin grown in the US last year weighed in at 2,009lbs. The father-of-two will find out if his pumpkin has broken the UK record at a ‘weigh off’ at a pumpkin festival in Southampton tomorrow. If it is declared the UK’s heaviest he will scoop a £1,000 reward from sponsors Thompson and Morgan. But he is up against rival growers Ian and Stuart Paton from Lymington, Hampshire, who set the current British record in 2010. The pumpkin is so heavy it has to be lifted onto a trailer using a forklift truck . In 2007 Mr Baggs grew the world’s biggest marrow, which weighed in at 9st 10lbs. The 30-year-old said: 'I think the pumpkin has done so well because it’s been grown from a good genetic seed. 'It’s been a nice summer after a very . cold spring. The real test will be seeing how dense it is and whether . there are any holes in the bottom which could ruin my chances. 'I won’t know exactly how much it weighs until I get it on the scales but I have a weight estimation table that indicates it’s around 1,500lbs. 'I’ve been growing these things since 2005 and you really have to know what you’re doing. 'They only grow for one season, so you only get one shot at the record each year.' Pumpkins belong to the squash family and are thought to have originated in North America between 7,000 and 5500 BC. Their name originates from the word ‘pepon’, Greek for ‘large melon’.
Farmer Mark Baggs estimates pumpkin weighs the same as a Smart Car .
It will need to weight more than 107 stone if it is to break UK record .
The squash has a 15ft circumference and has to be lifted using a forklift .
This monster pumpkin could smash the UK record after growing to the weight of a small car. Farmer Mark Baggs has spent countless hours nurturing the giant squash after planting it in a 500ft polytunnel six months ago. He estimates it currently weighs 1,500lbs, the same as a Smart Car, but he hopes it will break the UK record of 1,504lbs - or 107 stone. This giant pumpkin could break the UK record after it has grown to be the same weight as a small car. Pictured is Jack Baggs, four, and his sister Ellie-Mae, two, sat on the pumpkin . The pumpkin boasts a 15ft circumference and its roots span the entire length of the polytunnel. It is so heavy it has to be lifted onto a trailer using a forklift truck. But there is some way to go until Mr Baggs, from Wareham, Dorset, smashes the world record - a pumpkin grown in the US last year weighed in at 2,009lbs. The father-of-two will find out if his pumpkin has broken the UK record at a ‘weigh off’ at a pumpkin festival in Southampton tomorrow. If it is declared the UK’s heaviest he will scoop a £1,000 reward from sponsors Thompson and Morgan. But he is up against rival growers Ian and Stuart Paton from Lymington, Hampshire, who set the current British record in 2010. The pumpkin is so heavy it has to be lifted onto a trailer using a forklift truck . In 2007 Mr Baggs grew the world’s biggest marrow, which weighed in at 9st 10lbs. The 30-year-old said: 'I think the pumpkin has done so well because it’s been grown from a good genetic seed. 'It’s been a nice summer after a very . cold spring. The real test will be seeing how dense it is and whether . there are any holes in the bottom which could ruin my chances. 'I won’t know exactly how much it weighs until I get it on the scales but I have a weight estimation table that indicates it’s around 1,500lbs. 'I’ve been growing these things since 2005 and you really have to know what you’re doing. 'They only grow for one season, so you only get one shot at the record each year.' Pumpkins belong to the squash family and are thought to have originated in North America between 7,000 and 5500 BC. Their name originates from the word ‘pepon’, Greek for ‘large melon’.
Farmer Mark Baggs has spent countless hours currently weighs 1,500lbs, the same as a Smart Car, but he hopes it will break the UK record of on the pumpkin . The pumpkin boasts a 15ft circumference and its roots span the entire to be lifted onto a trailer using a forklift