"ALL aboard the gourd" was the cry as Britain's biggest ever pumpkin took to the water.

The crazy stunt saw children's TV presenters Konnie Huq and Zoe Salmon from Blue Peter take the helm of the fruits for a unique regatta along the Lymington River.

More than 300 people lined the banks of the river to watch the sail past, after the two teams, one headed by Konnie and the other by Zoe, had first hollowed out the monster fruits.

Thousands of pounds was raised for the Jubilee Sailing Trust and BBC Children in Need.

A second planned race, across the Solent to the Isle of Wight, had to be called off because the swell was too big -- despite one of the pumpkins being officially Britain's biggest ever at 1,188lb.

Organiser Gary Snellgrove said: "It was a fantastic day and we were delighted that so many people came down to watch the fun and games.

"The attempt to sail to the Isle of Wight failed though because the waves were just too big and the boats were getting swamped. They did though, make it out about one-and-a-half miles, so we're pretty sure that still makes it the longest ever pumpkin sail on the sea!"

The action will be screened on BBC's Blue Peter over the coming weeks.