Pumpkin boat sets sail on the Mere

But the Pritchard family set sail in a very different vessel – a giant pumpkin.

Mum Anna said: "A family friend had grown it for a local show and it won the prize for the biggest pumpkin.

"It's huge so my husband had to help him move it.

"When he helped him pick it back up, he said we could have it to carve with the kids."

But their father Dan had bigger ideas after hearing about pumpkins being turned into boats in America.

Megan, nine, and Dylan, 11, helped their dad to hollow out the giant vegetable on Monday morning and headed to the Mere.

"It didn't actually take that long to hollow out, surprisingly," Anna said.

"It took about 15 minutes using a small shovel to hollow and a saw to cut the top off.

"We live close to the Mere so thankfully we didn't have far to carry it.

"It's so heavy you wouldn't expect to to float, but we rolled it in and once it was on the water it was brilliant.

"The kids absolutely loved paddling about in it."

Anna said the pumpkin boat attracted lots of attention from passers-by who were visiting the Mere during half-term.

Some even got the chance to have a go at sailing the pumpkin themselves.

She added: "People were walking past and watching. They couldn't believe a pumpkin was sailing on the Mere.

"One family walked past with their little boy and asked if he could have a go so we let him get in too."

Last night the family carved the giant pumpkin and lit it up in time for Halloween.