A potentially record-breaking pumpkin was damaged by fire when a paraffin heater being used to keep it warm toppled over.

Peter Roberts, who runs a plant nursery at Morwenstow, has trounced all comers in the heaviest pumpkin class at Poundstock Gildhouse’s Craft Fair and Pumpkin Festival for the last two years, but was disappointed when the fire ended his chances of a hat-trick last weekend.

All the signs were that his 2015 pumpkin would have weighed in at an amazing 600lbs, more than 100lbs heavier than his monster 2013 champion. As it was, the prizes went to the tiddlers, with the eventual winner, grown by Graham Jones of Poundstock, weighing a mere 88lbs.

This was the tenth year that the Gildhouse has held a pumpkin festival as part of its annual craft and food fair, and the organisers were delighted at the way the standard of entries continues to rise.

This year saw a record 14 pumpkins in the junior carved category, and the judges, the Rev Tony Windross and his wife Pat, had to deliberate for a long time before picking Emilia Jose, of Trengune, as the winner.

Entries in the senior carved category ranged from traditional weird faces to a particularly painful and messy tooth extraction scene and presented yet more difficulties for the judges. Eventually they chose ‘Face with 3D ears’, entered by craft fair stallholder Michael Watkins, of Bideford.

Plenty of visitors, both locals and holidaymakers, enjoyed a rich variety of local crafts and foodstuffs, and it was good to welcome some new stallholders as well as regular favourites. The event was held in Poundstock Church and Gildhouse and the money raised will be used to help maintain the Tudor gildhouse.

A spokesman said: “We are always keen to extend the range of crafts and foods at the fair. If you are a local craftsperson or food producer and would be interested in having a stall next year, we would be delighted to hear from you, please contact 01288 361147.”