A HINDU celebration of good over evil went off with a bang.

Hundreds of people turned up at Bolton Indian Sports Club on Tuesday as Bolton Hindu Forum hosted their annual Dussehra celebration.

The event saw local children parade, before six-year-old Dheer Patel, who was dressed as Lord Rama, fired a bow and arrow to light a fire to burn the 10-headed demon Ravana.

And a spectacular firework display provided a grand finale to the event.

The celebration marks the triumph of good over evil and is the culmination of Navratri.

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Rama defeated and killed 10-headed demon king Ravana and because of this, people in several parts of India burn effigies of Ravana.

Dheer had the important job of firing the arrow to light the bonfire and he was joined by a group of other children in the procession.

Chairman of the forum Manu Mistry said: “For us this is similar to bonfire night but instead of burning Guy Fawkes we are burning Ravana.

“It is a very popular event all over the world and this is reflected with how many people have turned up.

“Events like this are important for our group because we want to do more cohesive work getting the different parts of the community to gel and embrace all aspects of the Hindu community and this is a good way of doing that.

“It is a great event that brings the community together and the fireworks are fantastic.”

The event had a family feel to it with many generations turning out to celebrate. Zinkle Shah’s son was one of the youngsters chosen to be involved in the procession. She said: “He has been so excited for days leading it up to this, he has absolutely loved it.”

Niru Narsai who was visiting with her family said it was important for the children to understand more about their culture.

She said: “I come every year because it is a great community event. All the children are involved with the procession, which is great because it is important that they know about our religion.”