Solihull squash

The giant squash

This ginormous squash, measuring more than four feet long and weighing almost as much as a small child, has been seized at Birmingham Airport.

It was found by Solihull Council environmental health officers probing a consignment of illegal food products imported from Asia.

The colossal vegetable, estimated by the council to weigh at least 60lbs, was part of a load that also included 175lbs of fish and 94,000 illegally imported cigarettes.

The authority’s team also discovered 2,000lbs of illegally imported betel leaves in three separate shipments.

The leaves - which came from Bangladesh - are used as a mild stimulant and can be chewed or smoked.

Imports of the leaves have been suspended by the EU following concerns over the presence of salmonella in the product.

A spokeswoman for the environmental team, said: “Many of the boxes of leaves were mis-labelled or packed at the rear of the consignment. Some of the leaves have been sent to a laboratory for analysis.”

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