Pumpkins might still be seen as a quintessentially American crop, but the last 30 years have seen their slow, steady rise in the UK arable sector. This rise has led to a now booming industry providing diverse income for farms across the UK.

Forty-two-year-old farmer Jonathan Willis thanked the emergency services and Addenbrooke’s Hospital surgical teams who saved him last year, after he dodged death by mere millimetres when he was accidentally impaled by a forklift tine.

Farmers are being urged to review security as the long dark evenings draw in, as criminals will use the cover of darkness to target rural areas.