Budding gardener Penny, 8, is best in show

Eight-year-old Penny has her own allotment and grows tomatoes, potatoes and sweetcorn

A green-fingered eight-year-old is the pick of the crops after scooping a garden show prize for her endeavours.

Penny, from Northamptonshire, has been crowned Best Junior Gardener at the Higham Ferrers Horticultural Show.

She had displayed a selection of her own produce, which included tomatoes, multi-coloured sweetcorn, cucumbers - and jam made from her home-grown chillies.

Mum Keeley said: "She gets her green fingers from her great nan, Georgina. Gardening is her passion, she has a natural talent."

Penny took up gardening at the age of four during lockdown, when she asked her parents if she could grow her own vegetables and fruit in the family garden.

As her interest grew, her parents - with a little help from Father Christmas - decided to gift her a small allotment.

Her top tip for successful gardening is not to water an allotment too much, "because if it floods, it might not survive".

Penny has been gardening since she was four years old after her interest began during lockdown

Keeley added: "Santa organised it.

"We are very proud of her. When she leaves school, she would like to become a gardener at the Eden project in Cornwall."

Penny's mum Keeley said she had a natural talent for gardening