A FIELD full of pumpkins has been saved and turned into soup and pies for the homeless.

Dozens of volunteers sprang into action after a plea from pub chef Russell Tisbury.

Together they managed to salvage as many as 2,500 pumpkins from being ploughed into pulp.

Russell, who works at the Ladies Mile pub in Patcham, Brighton, organised the mass pumpkin pick on Thursday morning.

He saw a notice on a community website saying the farmer at Pumpkin Picking Patch in Sompting wanted to plough his field and anyone who wanted the remaining pumpkins could have them.

Russell called in volunteers and chefs at other pubs, restaurants and cafes and organisations to collect the crop so it could be made into soup and pies for the homeless.

He said: “It was all a bit panicky on the morning as there wasn’t much time.

“But we managed to get several vans and loads of volunteers there before the deadline of 2.30pm given by the Pumpkin Patch.

“The whole thing got really big and there must have been more than 2,500 pumpkins, all different shapes and sizes.”

Some 600 ended up piled up outside the Ladies Mile pub.

Landlord Paul Newman said: “I’ve never seen so many pumpkins in my life.

“We’ve been overrun with pumpkins.”

The idea of using pumpkins left over from Halloween for the homeless came from landlady Gayle Newman, Paul’s wife.

She said: “A week ago, we took our niece to Pumpkin Patch to pick pumpkins for a Halloween display in the pub.

“I thought it was a waste to throw them away afterwards and asked Russell to make soup for the homeless with them.

“Then Russell saw the notice about the pumpkins in the field on a community website saying that the farmer wanted to plough the field and asking if anyone wanted to pick them.

“Russell took it a step further and organised everyone to go there and get the pumpkins.

“It’s a brilliant idea and shows that the community can all come together for a good cause.”

By Thursday afternoon, Russell had already made 40 litres of pumpkin soup.

He said some of the pumpkins will be kept and turned into soup for the homeless as the need arises.

He added: “Loads of collections at the pub have been organised over the weekend.”

Niall Smith, from events company Medkitchen Events, which organised the Pumpkin Picking Patch event with a farmer, said 12 acres of land was planted with 75,000 pumpkin seeds in May.

He said: “It’s really lovely that the leftover pumpkins will be made into food for the homeless.

“We knew we would have some left over after Halloween and it was amazing to see all the volunteers coming down here so quickly.

“They certainly got a lot of pumpkins.

“It was amazing.”