A crowd gathered on the recreation field on Birch Road in Ellesmere to watch pumpkins soar through the air.

On Sunday November 3, Fizzgigs' trebuchet, a community arts group made its sixth appearance, launching more than 70 pumpkins skyward.

Built by Fizzgigs founder Peter Cartlidge, the medieval siege engine replica gave the Halloween lanterns a final moment of glory.

Fizzgigs' trebuchet being loaded with a pumpkin (Image: Supplied) In the Middle Ages, such siege weapons were used to catapult boulders and burning pitch over castle battlements.

This year, the pumpkins were aimed at a pair of fairy figures known as the Damson Twins, which featured in Fizzgigs' summer Plantation Trail.

This year, each competition entrant was asked to guess the distance their jack o'lantern would travel.

The targets were then moved to that mark, with any achieving a hit granting a reward.

The Fizzgigs' trebuchet is ready to fire (Image: Supplied) Mr Cartlidge said: "We've never managed to hit a target yet, in five years.

"And we've had some sizeable targets, too.

"Giant spiders and dragons, for example."

Thomas Davies, aged six from Cockshutt, was thrilled when his pumpkin, also named Thomas, knocked down one of the fairy twins.Thomas Davies, winner, with Fizzgigs' trebuchet  (Image: Supplied)

He will receive a prize from The Crafty Spider in Ellesmere.

His dad joked: "He's even more excited to think his photo might be in the paper."

Thomas was the only pumpkin to hit the target.

Some did attain significant distances, though the lifetime record still stands at 100 metres.

One creatively carved pumpkin arrived from Oswestry Library, brought by Rosie, a librarian, and her children, Evie and George.

Evie (L) and Rosie (R) with Billy, Chickadee and Libby the Librarian (Image: Supplied) Their main pumpkin was called Libby The Librarian, and it featured googly eyes and glasses.

Some visitors travelled from as far as Shrewsbury to join the event.

Despite the overcast weather, families were eager to enjoy the afternoon's free entertainment.

The Jackson family from Ellesmere brought along a picnic, complete with toffee apples.

Ian Andrew looked after the afternoon event on the microphone.

He explained why Fizzgigs had enlisted the help of several strong, athletic young men.

He said: "Pulling back the trebuchet is very hard work.

"These guys were at it for over two hours.

"They certainly worked for their beers from the White Hart at the end of the session."

Fizzgig members and the local cubs collected all pumpkin flesh from the field, which was taken for composting.

For more information on Fizzgigs' activities, visit www.fizzgigs.co.uk.