WORSHIPPERS across Hampshire took part in colourful celebrations to mark a festival welcoming the spring.

Members at the Vedic Society Hindu Temple in Southampton threw coloured paint at each other as part of traditional greetings for Holi.

A huge bonfire was lit the following night outside the building in Radcliffe Road, Northam. Special readings of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, and singing took place at Gurdwara temples in the city, including the Gurdwara Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, St Mark's Road.

Naresh Sonchatla, vice president at the Vedic Society Hindu Temple, said: "Holi is a very joyous occasion and a time of celebration and happiness for people."

The event celebrates good harvests and fertility of the land.