Sikhs across West Yorkshire celebrate annual festival

Thousands of Sikhs celebrated the annual Vaisakhi festival in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield.

The parade by the Sikh community in Leeds started at around 11am on Saturday and finished after 5pm.

It travelled into the city centre and finished outside the Shiri Kagidhar temple on Chapeltown Road, Chapeltown.

Vaisakhi, one of the most significant events in the Sikh calendar, commemorates the birth of Sikhism in 1699.

The celebration is also an ancient harvest festival, marking the beginning of a new solar year and harvest season.

Celebrations were also held by Sikhs in Bradford.

Yesterday there was a procession to each of the six temples in Bradford.

And on Saturday there was a Vaisakhi camp in Bradford for children between the ages of five and 16.

The camp included activities with a Sikh theme, including poster making, a Sikh quiz and the making of Vaisakhi cards.

A Sikh procession through the streets of Huddersfield was also held yesterday.

Hundreds of Sikhs joined the walk from the Sikh temple in Springwood to the temple at Fartown.