TOWERING sunflowers are stopping traffic in a North Yorkshire village - where a gardener has cultivated the giant plants.

Villagers living in Gilling West near Richmond are used to seeing 90-year-old Jimmy Reid caring for super-sized vegetables in his garden.

The green-fingered gardener has won countless awards over the years with some of the massive pumpkins, marrows and tomatoes that he has produced for shows.

But this year he decided to turn his hand to some floral produce.

The result has been some staggeringly tall sunflowers.

“I can only estimate how tall they are because I can’t get up to them because I have a bad leg, but I think they’re about 21ft tall,” said Mr Reid.

As well as gardening know-how, Mr Reid says the secret is also partly down to who you know.

“I’ve been doing this all over the country for years and you get in touch with different people and swap different seeds,” he said.

“The seeds from these sunflowers are from a lad who holds the British record for growing the largest sunflowers. I let him have some of my tomato seeds from a tomato I’d grown to 4lb 9oz.”

Last year Mr Reid, who used to run a demolition company, grew his biggest ever marrow weighing 120lb and measuring 45in long.

He plans to take this year’s produce to Beamish Agricultural Show and the giant vegetable competition at Harrogate Autumn Flower Show later this month.