Records tumbled at this year's Malvern Autumn Garden and Country Show at the Three Counties Showground.

The Royal Horticultural Society awarded its highest ever number of gold and silver medals to exhibitors - more than at the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show.

Visitor numbers topped a record-breaking 62,000.

A giant green squash grown by a fourteen-year-old also made it into the record books by tipping the scales at a massive 600lbs.

"It's been a very successful show in every way," said showground spokesman Sharon Gilbert.

"Standards among the exhibitors were very high and to get the highest number of RHS gold and silver awards of any show was fantastic."

The popular seasonal mix of countryside life and autumn gardening included harvest produce, amazing giant vegetables, colourful flowers, livestock and locally produced food and wine.

Now in its 11th year the show saw TV gardener Chris Beardshaw swap his gardening gloves for an oven mitt and show off his cooking skills. He was demonstrating seasonal recipes for home-grown garden produce.

Chris used fruit and vegetables grown by pupils from Northleigh Primary School in the show ground's children's garden.

Main attractions at last weekend's event included the Royal Horticultural Society Flower Show, a plantsman's paradise with breathtaking displays of everything from carnations, pelargoniums and penstemons to grasses, bonsai and cacti.

The Harvest Pavilion housed both the Midlands Vegetable Society Championships and the Open Gardening Competition, while a Festival of Food and Wine celebrated the best of locally produced ice-cream, wine, liqueurs, chocolates, cheese and sausages.

The main arena hosted a display by Malvern Gymnastics Club, while other attractions included a stunt bike display, dog agility classes, vintage cars and a children's farm.

For the first time ever, there was a family educational trail around the show and an apple juice competition that attracted more than 40 entries from local and regional growers.

For shopaholics, there were hundreds of trade stands offering everything from green wellies and cocktail dresses to hot tubs and log cabins.

"Everyone was spending. I think some people were doing a bit of early Christmas shopping," said Mrs Gilbert.