At the 19th Jubilee Sailing Trust Autumn Pumpkin Festival, held in the Royal Victoria Country Park, in Netley, Hampshire, on Saturday 14 October 2017, the winning pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) weighed in at 2269.4 lb (1029.38 kg).  This giant, grown Ian and Stuart Paton, in Lymington, is the heaviest pumpkin ever grown in the United Kingdom, and the second heaviest to be grown in the world this year.

The Festival raises funds for the Jubilee Sailing Trust ‘whose mission is to promote the integration of people of all physical abilities through the challenge and adventure of sailing on the open seas’, is very much a family event, with numerous stalls and a ‘scarecrow avenue’.  In addition to the pumpkin competition, there are also classes for various other giant vegetables, but these, apart from the marrow (Cucurbita pepo) class, attract few entries.