Britain faces a Halloween pumpkin shortage after record drought leaves one Suffolk farm with just 50 of its usual 10,000

Liz Paterson and Andrew King of Ruffins Farm in Bury St Edmunds diverted their scarce water to 500 breeding ewes rather than their pumpkin patch. Ms Paterson said the heat was so intense the plants 'just didn't pollinate'. At Picking Patch in the New Forest, pumpkins grew 50 to 60 per cent smaller than normal. Niall Smith warned that some patches could run out before half-term, though supermarket supplies remain stable.

The Met Office confirmed this summer broke UK temperature records going back to their earliest point.

The RHS's Guy Barter said the drought 'stretched their tolerance to the limit'.

Ms Paterson fears El Niño may bring another drought next year.

She warned: 'this climate doesn't work for pumpkins. What else can we do?'