Supermarkets in Barnet have joined a “pumpkin rescue mission” to prevent food waste over Halloween.

With as many as 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins being thrown away each year after Halloween, Tesco has set up pumpkin rescue stations across 10 North London stores to encourage recycling unused food.

From Friday, stations will appear outside the entrances of Tesco stores, including the Finchley superstore and Brent Cross Extra store, to which will dispose of and convert the orange squashes into energy in an environmentally friendly way.

But the stations will also be demonstrating the tasty meals to be made out of pumpkin leftover, by cooking pumpkin soup for customers to sample and handing out recipe cards so that they can be tried at home.

Store director for Tesco North London Jez Butwell said:“I’m delighted we’re sparing a thought for pumpkins this Halloween, helping our customers in North London to convert leftovers into energy and once again demonstrating Tesco’s commitment to reducing food waste.

“The soup being cooked for customers to try is also really tasty, providing a great alternative to throwing pumpkins away and a nice, healthy little warmer as the nights start to get cold.”

The move is part of Tesco’s pledge to reduce food waste, with the retailer having rolled out its food surplus redistribution scheme, Community Food Connection, to over 800 stores across the UK.

Community Food Connection is run in partnership with food redistribution charity FareShare and has donated over a 1.4 million meals worth of surplus food to people in need.

Are you carving up a spooky pumpkin for Halloween? Send your pics to rhys.handley@newsquest.co.uk.