A GOLDEN wonder has occurred at a house in Colchester after a couple managed to grow three pineapples.

It has taken Terry and John Cruickshank two years to grow the exotic fruit in their conservatory.

The greenfingered pair, of Conifer Close, cut the top off a pineapple, soaked it in water for two weeks, and moved it into a pot full of soil.

The pineapples are now about 2ft, and Mrs Cruickshank said they look exactly like pineapples bought from a supermarket.

She said: “We are proud of them. It is the first time we have tried and we thought it was just going to be the one, so to have three and a baby one is impressive.

“It’s very unusual to grow them from a seed in an everyday house as you need to have a certain climate.

“I would love to eat one and cut it open but I daren’t, they are my babies now.”

Pineapples are usually found in tropical climates, such as in Hawaii where they are grown on an agricultural scale and the average temperature is around 78 degrees fahrenheit.

Mark Burgess, from J Burgess and Sons greengrocers in Old Heath Road, Colchester, said: “It’s not easy to grow pineapples here, it is rather rare.

“I’m not sure what they would taste like as you need a lot of sun to make them sweet.

“We don’t even get pineapples from Europe, let alone England or Essex.”