Greenwich granddad claims his gigantic vegetable is 'biggest in Europe'

This pendulous three-foot-long bottle gourd sprang up in Surendra Patel’s Greenwich South Street plot - and will not stop growing.

The 59-year-old grandfather-of-one was given seeds for the unusual veg from India – where its Hindi name is lauki and it is commonly cooked up for currys and savoury cakes.

The bottle gourd is a South Asian squash and earns its name from the fact it can also be dried and used as a water carrier, utensil or pipe.

Retired supermarket owner Mr Patel said: “It is massive – about three foot.

“I think I can say it’s the biggest growing in Europe.”

The father-of-two initially raised the crop in his conservatory before planting it outside where he says the secret to his success was plenty of “manure” in the ground.

His daughter Parul Patel said: “It just keeps growing and growing.

“It looks like a baseball bat.

“People need to see it to believe it.”