Bumper apple harvest 'down to heatwaves and drought'

THIS year has delivered a bumper apple harvest in the West, despite the drought and record-breaking hot summer, experts have said.

- 

The National Trust is reporting bumper crops of orchard fruit - at properties including Dyrham Park.

The conservation charity puts the unusually abundant apple and pumpkin harvest down to a combination of weather factors including last year’s wet conditions, the warm and dry spring and plenty of sun this summer.

Although crops are ripening weeks earlier than normal after the sunny summer, the trust adds pumpkins will still be good for Halloween with careful storage.