A Newton Abbot couple have growing evidence that the summer's scorching temperatures have been pushing the mercury way up the scale. Ann and Alan Partridge have had a banana tree in their Highweek garden for years and hardly give it a second thought. But this year the tree has defied the text books and sprouted baby bananas. 'It was our gardener who first commented on how rare it was,' said Mrs Partridge. 'The bananas are only two or three inches long, but there are several hands developing.' So unusual is it for banana trees to fruit in the UK that earlier this month the BBC reported nationally on the fruiting of another in the grounds of Clare College, Cambridge University. It is reportedly the first time the East Anglian plant has ever borne fruit.
