Ninety-year record for world's heaviest red cabbage beaten

David Thomas said his red cabbage was "quite a nice looking thing"

A man from Cornwall has broken a world record that has stood for more than 90 years - by growing the heaviest red cabbage.

David Thomas, from Leedstown, presented the 23.2kg (51.1lbs) vegetable at this year's National Giant Vegetable Championships.

Mr Thomas said he was "very proud" of the "beach ball" sized cabbage.

The previous record, set in 1925 by Mr R Straw of Staveley, Derbyshire, weighed in at 19.05kg (42lbs).

Growing the huge vegetable took "hours of work", said Mr Thomas, who has been cultivating vegetables competitively for more than 15 years.

"There's no big secret to growing giant veg. You just need the right seeds to start with, plenty of room, good soil and a bit of luck," he said.

Heaviest parsnip

Dale Toten, from Somerset, had hoped to take first place in another giant cabbage category at the Malvern Autumn Show, but was forced to settle for third place after an unwitting chef used some of it for confit for hotel guests.

Mr Thomas already holds two world records for the heaviest parsnip and the heaviest cucumber.

He entered 16 vegetables at this year's competition in Worcestershire.

Official UK National Giant Vegetables Championship Judge, Martyn Davis, said: "We are delighted to confirm that David Thomas has broken the previous world record for the world's heaviest red cabbage by almost 10lbs."

The record is yet to be verified by Guinness World Records.