06-19-2011, 04:59 PM
a pumpkin cheat! off with his head! 
this is serious business!
Daily Mail
For years, the pumpkin competition has been the main highlight of the annual calendar for the sleepy village of Beckbury.
Green-fingered locals have competed to outdo each other by producing the biggest specimen, while villagers looked on and cheered as they tipped the scales.
But now, the competition has been mired in controversy after the man who produced the biggest pumpkin for four years in a row admitted he cheated.
Every year, the villagers would watch in awe as Barry Truss – assisted by four burly relatives – placed his mammoth pumpkins on the scales.
He managed to scoop the prestigious trophy and £50 cash prize for four years running at the competition in the Shropshire village, which is just outside Wolverhampton.
But in a shock confession, he admitted pumping last year’s 186lb prize-winner full of water and then using a bung to hide the tell-tale hole.
He said: ‘I used a hose and put four watering cans worth in it. Took some skill, actually. I thought it would be a laugh.
‘We spent hours rolling the thing round the back garden afterwards trying to get the water out. It gurgled.
‘Listen, I’ve had dirty tricks played on me – they fiddled the scales one year – but I’m not complaining.’
He added: ‘I went white when I heard the pumpkin was going to be given to the main sponsor’s children. If they’d cut into that thing, the tidal wave would’ve swept them away.’
And it seems his admission has triggered a whole host of rumors of threats and sabotage that now threaten to ruin the competition’s wholesome reputation.
Villagers accuse Mr Truss, a 57-year-old long-distance lorry driver, of putting his foot through one specimen and using his dog to sniff out pumpkins hidden from him.
They also accuse him of poisoning pumpkins and upending shallots.
Last year, his biggest rival for the pumpkin crown, former allotment association chairman Pete Glaze, claimed Mr Truss ‘put his foot through’ one pumpkin.
Mr Glaze then planted his six best specimens in secret locations so that his rival would not be able to find them.
Mr Truss denies vandalism but when confronted he allegedly pointed to pet Tibetan terrier Millie and whispered: ‘I’ll find them. You’ve heard of drug dogs? She’s a pumpkin dog.’
Mr Glaze said: ‘Barry has admitted to filling one pumpkin with water, but what about all the other stuff? He was witnessed upending my shallots, poisoned one pumpkin and put his foot through the biggest I ever grew.’
Mr Truss, an allotment holder for almost 30 years, strenuously denies the claims. He believes Mr Glaze’s potential prize-winner simply became too heavy and caved in.
‘Caved in, my arse,’ Mr Glaze said. ‘It had a bloody boot-print on it.’
When asked how he ensured he always grew the biggest pumpkins, Mr Truss allegedly said: ‘You can’t beat a pair of steel-capped boots and a bottle of poison.’
The pumpkin weigh-in, staged each October at the village pub The Seven Stars, is the highlight of Beckbury Allotment Association’s packed annual program.
this is serious business!
Daily Mail
For years, the pumpkin competition has been the main highlight of the annual calendar for the sleepy village of Beckbury.
Green-fingered locals have competed to outdo each other by producing the biggest specimen, while villagers looked on and cheered as they tipped the scales.
But now, the competition has been mired in controversy after the man who produced the biggest pumpkin for four years in a row admitted he cheated.
Every year, the villagers would watch in awe as Barry Truss – assisted by four burly relatives – placed his mammoth pumpkins on the scales.
He managed to scoop the prestigious trophy and £50 cash prize for four years running at the competition in the Shropshire village, which is just outside Wolverhampton.
But in a shock confession, he admitted pumping last year’s 186lb prize-winner full of water and then using a bung to hide the tell-tale hole.
He said: ‘I used a hose and put four watering cans worth in it. Took some skill, actually. I thought it would be a laugh.
‘We spent hours rolling the thing round the back garden afterwards trying to get the water out. It gurgled.
‘Listen, I’ve had dirty tricks played on me – they fiddled the scales one year – but I’m not complaining.’
He added: ‘I went white when I heard the pumpkin was going to be given to the main sponsor’s children. If they’d cut into that thing, the tidal wave would’ve swept them away.’
And it seems his admission has triggered a whole host of rumors of threats and sabotage that now threaten to ruin the competition’s wholesome reputation.
Villagers accuse Mr Truss, a 57-year-old long-distance lorry driver, of putting his foot through one specimen and using his dog to sniff out pumpkins hidden from him.
They also accuse him of poisoning pumpkins and upending shallots.
Last year, his biggest rival for the pumpkin crown, former allotment association chairman Pete Glaze, claimed Mr Truss ‘put his foot through’ one pumpkin.
Mr Glaze then planted his six best specimens in secret locations so that his rival would not be able to find them.
Mr Truss denies vandalism but when confronted he allegedly pointed to pet Tibetan terrier Millie and whispered: ‘I’ll find them. You’ve heard of drug dogs? She’s a pumpkin dog.’
Mr Glaze said: ‘Barry has admitted to filling one pumpkin with water, but what about all the other stuff? He was witnessed upending my shallots, poisoned one pumpkin and put his foot through the biggest I ever grew.’
Mr Truss, an allotment holder for almost 30 years, strenuously denies the claims. He believes Mr Glaze’s potential prize-winner simply became too heavy and caved in.
‘Caved in, my arse,’ Mr Glaze said. ‘It had a bloody boot-print on it.’
When asked how he ensured he always grew the biggest pumpkins, Mr Truss allegedly said: ‘You can’t beat a pair of steel-capped boots and a bottle of poison.’
The pumpkin weigh-in, staged each October at the village pub The Seven Stars, is the highlight of Beckbury Allotment Association’s packed annual program.