WHEN Les Stables dug up some potatoes at his allotment he got more than he bargained for a monster potato that bears a passing resemblance to his dog!

Mr Stables, 81, a resident at The Ridings sheltered accommodation in Scarbor-ough Road, Rodbourne, said: "I knew as soon as I turned it over in the ground that it was going to be a whopper. But when I pulled it out I couldn't believe it. It looks just like a little dog."

Mr Stables has been growing potatoes at his allotment in Redcliffe Street since 1975, but has never turned up any unusual produce until now.

He said: "The more I look at it, the more it reminds me of my little Yorkshire Terrier, Toby. He's 12 and he just looks at it as if he doesn't know what to make of it."

Mr Stables is unsure about the origins of the potato.

"I grow them in rows usually but this one was off on its own, a bit of a renegade potato," he said.

"It could be a hybrid of several different types I've grown on my plot.

"I'm also an organic gardener, so that could have had something to do with it.

"I only use natural compost and no artificial pesticides."

Asked whether he's going to use his mammoth spud to seed future generations of giant potatoes, Mr Stables said: "I may put it in a box with some peat until the spring to see what grows from it next year, but I think it's actually on the turn already."

It looks like this dog has had its chips!

Have you unearthed a strange vegetable to rival this one? Contact the newsdesk on Swindon 528144.