Pumpkins grown by Cursons of Upwell

Cambridgeshire and Norfolk not hit by crop failure

Parts of the Fens have been a blaze of orange this autumn, and it’s nothing to do with leaves changing colour.

Fields of pumpkins have been adding a splash of brightness to the landscape in readiness for the annual Halloween harvest.

Upwell farmers K.J. Cursons will be supplying supermarket chain Asda with over a million pumpkins alone.

Asda says that to keep up with increased customer demand for pumpkin carving, it is expecting to sell 30pc more pumpkins than in 2011 – over 1.3 million in total.

Chris Jones, of Asda’s produce team, said: “Despite bad weather affecting some pumpkin crops in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire it’s not been bad news across the country, with Cambridgeshire and Norfolk farms performing well.

“2012 has been a tough year for British farmers, but we’ve been fortunate with the weather in Cambridgeshire and have had a strong harvest with the pumpkins ready to go.”