THERE are plenty of tall tales when little Kristian Kilshaw tells his pals about his giant sunflower.

Kristian, aged seven, and his classmates at St Peter's Primary School, Smithills Dean, were each given a sunflower seedling to plant at the beginning of the summer.

The schoolboy carefully planted his next to the hedge in the front garden of his house on Smithills Dean Road and conscientiously watered it every day.

With the help of regular doses of tomato food the plant grew . . . and grew . . . and grew!

Soon the giant sunflower was taller than Kristian and still kept heading skywards.

As well as competing against his classmates, Kristian was determined his sunflower would beat his grandma Joan Needham's sunflower growing at her house nearby.

"We even had to get a neighbour to look after it when we went on holiday," said Kristian's mum, Lynda.

But all his hard work and dedication paid off recently when the schoolboy's plant finally flowered - towering over Kristian at more than 9ft tall.

The gardening bug has now bitten Kristian and he is keen to repeat the challenge next season.

"I think this is going to be quite a yearly thing," said Lynda.

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