A DORSET dairy farmer is celebrating after smashing the world record for the largest pumpkin of its kind.
Mark Baggs, from Wareham, spent months cultivating the vast veg - which is the biggest field pumpkin ever grown.
It took three men to wrestle it on to the scales where it weighed in at a staggering 12 stone (168.08lbs).
The vegetable is currently awaiting verification by the Guinness World Records but, once confirmed, it is set to surpass the existing record by four stone (57lbs) Mark grew the pumpkin from seed he planted in his garden on June 1.
He pollinated its male and female flowers on August 9, meaning it grew for around seven weeks before he entered it at the prestigious Malvern Autumn Show.
It was weighed by a qualified National Vegetable Society judge.
The Connecticut field pumpkin, or Cucurbita pepo, is smaller than its cousin, the giant Atlantic pumpkin.
It is widely sold in supermarkets and carved for Halloween celebrations across the world.
Mark is now determined to break the record for the world's largest marrow.
He narrowly lost to last year's winner, Vince Sjodin, from Barry, South Wales, whose 18 stone veg was grown with one of Mr Baggs' own seeds.
The father-of-three said: "I had a pretty good idea it was going to win - we'd done the measurements and estimated that it was heavier than the record.
"I've put a lot of time and effort into it - I can spend up to three hours a day in the garden. Splitting is the main risk - even if there's a small hole, you can't enter it for competition.
"God never intended for them to grow this big - you're pushing nature to its limit.
"My main goal is the marrow - I fluked the pumpkin and just got lucky."
Mark won the title for the world's largest marrow in 2005 with a whopper that weighed almost 10st but lost it three years later.
He said he was prepared to spend 'the rest of his life' working to reclaim the record.
He said: "My first competitive year was in 2005 when I got the record for the marrow.
"Since then I've wanted to keep beating my own best - I always want to go one bigger.
"Last year the winner used one of own seeds. Now I want to grow it myself.
"it might take me ten years, it might never happen, but I'll keep trying. I've got a lot of time ahead of me".
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