A councillor and his fellow allotmenteers were left flummoxed when a marrow grew more than 5ft long.

Cllr George Savva, who represents Hazelbury Ward, has been looking after his allotment for nearly 40 years but is now taking his gardening to new lengths.

A marrow on his allotment patch in Crawford Gardens, in Palmers Green, sprouted to five feet and nine inches - and is still growing.

Other gardener's are baffled at how the vegetable could reach such as size. Cllr Savva said: “I never expected for a marrow on my patch to grow like this, I feel like I should enter it into a competition.”

The passionate gardener has encouraged others to get involved and start growing their own vegetables.

He said: “It is a social place down here and something I have been doing for a long time. I can relax here and I think others should get involved.”