Shropshire student Henry, 14, has a growing business with pumpkins
A teenage entrepreneur is hoping to harvest more profit this year as he expands his major pumpkin-growing operation in Shropshire.
Fourteen-year-old Henry Stanhope has planted a field of 6,000 pumpkins at Ryton Farm, in Dorrington, near Shrewsbury, this year, with the crop due to be ready for Halloween.
It is his second year of running the business, having successfully planted about 3,000 pumpkins in 2012.
The Wrekin College pupil has planted the seeds on a field belonging to his grandfather John Cartwright and this year is producing three different varieties of pumpkin – Harvest Moon, Jack O'Lantern and Magical. Once the crop is ready to harvest, Henry will set about the task of selling them and is targeting farm shops and local schools as potential buyers.
Henry's mother Kait Stanhope said: "Last year, he did it out of his own pocket money just to try it.
"He wanted to start making a bit of money from it.
"It was quite profitable for him and was teaching him what to do with money."
She added the pumpkins have been growing at a "tremendous" rate since they were recently planted outside, after initially being in pots in a greenhouse.
