A Bury St Edmunds restauranteur demonstrated how to make some delicious pumpkin soup at an event in the town on Wednesday to highlight how food waste can be reduced.

Maria Broadbent, owner of CASA, doubled as the wicked witch of the east to raise awareness of what can be done with the fruit.

More than a quarter of pumpkins end up being thrown away at Halloween, which equates to 18,000 tonnes of waste.

This year, both Suffolk and Norfolk county councils have joined forces with environmental charity Hubbub to launch the #PumpkinRescue as a part of their #FoodSavvy campaign.

Representatives from the Suffolk Waste Partnership also dished out top food saving tips and recipe cards to shoppers at a stall on Bury St Edmunds market.

David Bowman, chairman of the Suffolk Waste Partnership, said: “Food waste is a serious issue in Suffolk with the average family throwing away £810 of potentially good food every year.

“Think what you could do with that money? We’re literally throwing it in the bin.

“Our #foodsavvy project is looking to tackle this problem by getting people to really think about the food they buy and eat.”

Trewin Restorick, founder and chief executive of Hubbub, said: “As Halloween continues to grow in popularity in the UK, it’s really important that this doesn’t create an ever larger mountain of food waste.

“We must recognise that pumpkins are a valuable source of food and not just for decoration, if we are to tackle the 7.3million tonnes of food and drink wasted from British homes each year.

“Halloween is a great opportunity to help our children understand where food comes from and involve them in cooking a simple meal with their pumpkin carvings.”

Visit www.foodsavvy.org.uk/join-an-event/ for more details of events and tips on carving and cooking pumpkins.