Entrepreneur David Turner looks forward to his busiest time of the year every Halloween as pumpkins take over merchandising displays, stage sets and hospitality events.

Created out of a hobby that turned into a business idea, Whitby-based Pump’kd is a three-year-old pumpkin carving business.

Attracting clients such as Jimmy Choo, Vogue, Stylist, Yahoo, Gay times, BBC, ITV, Cosmopolitan, Waitrose, Thorpe Park, the West End musical Wicked, Novotel, The One Show and Strictly Come Dancing, the business sold more than 250 pumpkins in a successful week last year.

The business was founded by David Turner who is vying for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year title.

He said: “Pump’kd has drawn up a client list that keeps growing and growing, however, the list doesn’t grow by itself.

“I spend a significant portion of my year, in the run up to October, networking and liaising with professionals to ensure that a consistently growing workload is achieved.

“My dedication to networking has meant my sales have increased 500 per cent in three years.”

This year Mr Turner has moved the business from his back room to a rented office studio on the outskirts of Whitby.

Speaking about the challenges of the business Mr Turner said: “The workload that is generated and sourced each year becomes a really demanding task for us.

“The team carves fresh produce and there’s a strict time window in which the design has to be completed and delivered.

“In 2013 I was going to cap our order intake and stop taking orders at 150.

“However, I realised that it was in the business’s best interest to pursue the workload and adapt.

“I hired some staff to aid with the high demand.”