WHAT a whopper! It is heavier than a Fiat 500 car and grows the same weight of the little girl pictured every day.

Now, growers Ian and Stuart Paton hope to set a new world record with the massive pumpkin, that has a 17ft girth and is thought to weigh a giant 1,652lb on the pair’s predictions.

The 49-year-old twin brothers, hold the current British record and aim to make history by growing the biggest pumpkin in the world.

The duo, who run the Pinetops nursery in Lymington, New Forest, will hoist the whopping vegetable onto a lorry bed with a special lifting device on Saturday for an official weigh-in at the annual Jubilee sailing Trust Pumpkin Festival at the Royal Victoria Country Park in Netley.

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And they are hoping their growing experience, dating back to when they were just 13 years old, will take them straight into the history books in front of the 5,000 people expected to attend the show.

Two years ago they set the British record for the heaviest pumpkin weighing a monster 1,457lb.

Dad of two Ian, said: “This is definitely the biggest we have grown so far and we are aiming for the world title.

“We will take three with us to the festival this year. The others are both more than 1,000lb too.

“We grow them in a greenhouse and spend a lot of money getting the conditions just right.

“We plant them in one and a half tonnes of manure. This particular pumpkin grew more than two stone each day – that is the weight of the little girl in the picture.

“Most people are gobsmacked when they see it. They just grow so fast and seeing that is phenomenal.”

The average pumpkin weighs about five pounds and takes up to three months to mature.

The brothers say these whoppers, sponsored by Thompson and Morgan seed company, took seven months to grow.

To establish a British record the vegetable has to be weighed and pictured in front of witnesses at a recognised event.

Ian, who even has a Blue Peter badge for turning one into a boat, said the secret to the record-breaking veg is not to overfeed it.

He added: “It is like a person, if you eat lots of junk food you become obese and die. That is like a pumpkin.

It is all about keeping it fit and healthy with a good diet. These ones are beauties.”

The show, in its 12th year, will start at noon and will see 30 pumpkins of all shapes and sizes go on display.

There will also be an army of scarecrows designed and made by shop owners and school pupils.

Celebrity guests include children’s author Helen Cooper reading from her award-winning books Pumpkin Soup and Pipkin of Pepper as well as BBC Gardeners World presenter Toby Buckland.

It costs £1.50 for adults and 50p for children with proceeds going to the Jubilee Sailing Trust charity which offers sailing opportunities for both able-bodied and disabled people.