Yes, she has some bananas...

But Minster mum Sharon Beal hasn’t a clue what to do with the exotic fruit suddenly sprouting at her Seaside Avenue home.

With a taste for unusual topiary, Mrs Beal’s husband Malcolm decided a banana tree would be just the thing for the couple’s front garden.

It stood just 18ins when he brought it seven years ago, it now towers more than 10ft and brushes the roof of their semi-detached house.

Having never shown signs of flowering, its owners, who also own a Monkey Puzzle Tree, were shocked to discover about a dozen tiny bananas growing among its leaves.

But the pair are uncertain if the ripened fruit will represent a rare, homegrown treat or yellow peril.

In their search for information as to whether the bananas will eventually be good enough to eat, they’ve turned to the garden specialist who sold them the tree, as well as trusted internet sites - but to no avail.

Now they’re appealing for advice on what to do with their curvy crop.

Sharon, 57, said: “We thought the tree had died last year, so we’re surprised it’s flowered.

“We’ve looked on YouTube, but it doesn’t give much information about banana trees in England.”

Although synonymous with tropical climes, banana plants thrive in mild conditions.

Even if fruit isn’t forthcoming the trees make useful wind breaks and its leaves can be fed to horses and cows.

Sharon, who also has eight grandchildren, said before it began bearing fruit, the banana tree had become a bane.

“It’s so tall it obscures our front view and the leaves tap on my son’s first floor bedroom window, which he finds annoying,” she said.

“We like bananas, so it would be lovely to know we had our own edible crop which we could pick from our front door" - Sharon Beal

“The sap on the flowers is attracting a lot of bees, so it suggests there’s another banana tree nearby.

“We like bananas, so it would be lovely to know we had our own edible crop which we could pick from our front door.”

But the Beals are not the first Kent family who have taken advantage of the mild climate to grow bananas.

Last year we told you how Les and Maureen Milton grew bananas in their Minster garden after 11 years of trying.

And last November, the banana tree of Byron Richards in Gillingham sprouted fruit.