Gran’s pineapple plan bears fruit

to provide a bountiful harvest”.

Expert Stephen Skelton said: “Vines like the heat. It’s been the best year I’ve known. It’s going to be a very early vintage, which is good for quality.

“As for volume, we normally crop about one third of the Champagne region. This year I would guess we would match their level.” A GRANDMOTHER has harvested five pineapples from her garden, thanks to 40C temperatures in her greenhouse.

Dorothy Eastman, 70, of Goosnargh, Lancs, has been trying to grow a batch of the tropical fruit for 40 years.

She said: “I’ve never had five before, and one plant had two pineapples on it.”