County Durham man 'wouldn't advise' eating prize onion after winning after Harrogate Flower Show

A County Durham man said he "wouldn't advise" eating his prize onion after winning at the Harrogate Flower Show.

Stephen Purvis from Murton, won 'Heaviest Onion' at the bi-annual show yesterday with a whopping 7.6kg onion.

On his win, Mr Purvis said he was "over the moon" after 11 months of "hard work" to produce the vegetable.

He added: "I could cry now.

"Eleven months of hard work, I wouldn’t like to say how much [money] it was to grow this. I don’t want to know, but what I’ve won won’t cover what I’ve spent.

"Definitely worth it and I hope I’m back again next year and the year after."

Mr Purvis said he has been growing leeks for 40 years and made the addition of onions in his greenhouse around 15 years ago.

He added: "I still do grow leeks as well and then I moved on to growing these about 15 years ago.

"I enjoy growing these, there’s a lot more work to them in the greenhouse.

"On the cold nights, I can go down the greenhouse I can do my bits and jobs in there as opposed to being sat in the house."

We asked Mr Purvis if he prize onion was edible. He said: "No I wouldn’t advise it.

"But this will go back for seed and hopefully get some fresh seed off it next year."

The Harrogate Autumn Flower show runs from the 13-15 September at Newby Hall.

The twice-annual event showcases all that the Northern horticulture has to offer, with a Spring show held in April.

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