HALLOWEEN experts at Morrisons stores in Warminster and Westbury are running pumpkin carving classes this week to help parents who feel pressured by their kids to produce the perfect pumpkin.

The Westbury store on Edward Street and the Weymouth Street store in Warminster will run pumpkin carving classes today (Friday 28) between 3.30-4.30pm. The free sessions will see them creating masterpieces, sharing prepping and carving tips, answering questions, and providing insider ‘tricks of the trade’ for carving all sizes of pumpkins.

A survey carried out for the store said 43 per cent of parents were not confident about pumpkin carving, with 60 per cent feeling they would let their kids down if they did not produce the perfect scary veg for Halloween - with the average parent due to spend two hours and 21 minutes on Halloween preparation this year.

One in five of parents admit to buying two pumpkins in case they needed to start again – with one in 20 being reduced to tears by the process. 45 per cent of parents attribute the increased pressure for the perfect pumpkin to the explosion of carving masterpieces shared on social media by friends and neighbours.

Morrisons has also created an online ‘how to’ video and a series of stencils for 30-minute monster masterpieces and last minute miracles – all available at www.morrisons.com/pumpkins.

This year Morrisons has stocked a range of new varieties, including Ghost, a white pumpkin at £3 and Giant pumpkins also at £3, alongside the more traditionally sized standard varieties costing as little as 75p or 2 for £1.