'They are ticking timebombs': the problem with the British pumpkin harvest

The wet summer has slashed this year's yields and increased prices by 30%. The best advice for next year's Halloween? Grow your own

It has been hailed as the Great British Pumpkin Shortage. Heavy rain in August cut pumpkin yields in half for Barfoots, one of Britain's biggest pumpkin suppliers. Another grower in Kent reports a 10% fall.

October is the cruellest month for pumpkin growers. "If only Halloween was six weeks earlier " they are ticking timebombs," grower Jon Barfoot told a produce industry website. I'm not being smug but this alleged crisis won't be felt in our household, thanks to my dad growing us an "atlantic giant" pumpkin, which feels as heavy as the combined weight of our three-year-old twins.