A sushi chef at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club has had his work cut out after carving dozens of pumpkins for a Hallowe'en display in the hotel’s foyer.

Ernie Ogalesco spent hours turning the autumnal fruits into intricate, ghoulish sculptures.

Mr Ogalesco, who works at the hotel’s Intrepid restaurant, said it usually takes about an hour to carve an average pumpkin that weighs about 10lb.

However, the centrepiece of the display is a giant 210lb pumpkin, which took more than five hours to sculpt.

Mr Ogalesco has spent the past week working through a mountain of about 40 pumpkins. Reserve pumpkins are needed to replace those on display that start to go mouldy.

Mr Ogalesco said: “I don’t actually use a knife to carve them. I use a scraper, which makes it much easier to carve.”

The pumpkins will be on display until Hallowe'en on October 31.