Is this the strangest sunflower in the Black Country?

The unusual flower has sprung up at the Coseley home of 11-year-old Yvie-Shai Whitehouse, who planted a seed she was given by a friend.

The plant had started to grow as expected in the garden of the Chad Road property when the family went away for a holiday.

However on their return they were taken aback by what had emerged from the flower bed.

Yvie-Shai said: "Everyone thinks its fantastic. It is taller than me and has lots of flowers.

"My best friend Hattie gave me the seed. Her's died because of slugs, and she thinks mine is fantastic."

She has taken a picture of the abnormal fauna into her class at Bramford Primary School, where it has also been greeted with surprise.

Her dad Jez said: "I've never seen anything like it. We've spoken to many different people, and no-one knows how it's happened."

Her mum Sonia added: "We went on holiday and when we got back we couldn't believe how it had grown."

Yvie-Shai has only done the odd spot of gardening, with her main hobby being ballroom dancing with the Zig Zag Dance Factory.

According to the National Sunflower Association, there are certain varieties which have more than one bloom, but these are usually found in North America.

Advice on the association's website states: "The cultivated sunflower has only one flower or head. But the wild cousins found growing in ditches and other areas throughout much of North America have multiple flowers and heads.

"Multiples of 20 and more heads are common. The 'wilds' are the genetic basis of today's domesticated sunflower."