NOW that Halloween is over, people are being urged to make sure their pumpkins don't turn into a horror story.

Instead of ditching pumpkin lanterns in the rubbish, people are encouraged to add them to their compost bin, so they don't end up in landfill sites.

County Durham Waste Partnership wants people to call an amnesty on pumpkins and use the insides of them in food preparation - in soups, pies or lasagne, and add the seeds to salads.

Councillor Alan Cox, Durham County Council's cabinet member for waste management, said: "Parts of the pumpkin that aren't used, such as the old lantern shell, can be added to the compost bin, where they will break down safely and help provide a nitrogen-rich ingredient to make compost for the garden. By minimising food waste, we can divert a huge amount of organic waste from landfill sites.

"When sent to landfill, the organic waste breaks down without oxygen and produces methane, a greenhouse gas.

When added to the compost bin, the waste breaks down aerobically, and no methane is produced, which is good news for the environment."

It is estimated that every year, one million pumpkins are sold in the UK, mostly carved into lanterns and put into the rubbish bin once Halloween is over.