Guests were splattered with paint as the Pandav Vidhya Shala Holi Rang Utsav 2016 celebrations got underway.

The festival, which was part of a project of Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK, took place on March 19 at Bushey Academy with MP for Hertsmere Oliver Dowden initiating the countdown.

Pandav Vidhya Shala Holi Rang Utsav 2016 is a Hindu festival of colours where people play, chase and colour each other with dry power and coloured water.

Dina Bhudia, one of the organisers of the Bushey event, said: “It was a brilliant event and everyone had a great time.

“More than 200 people came and we had such positive feedback. We will definitely be doing this again.

"We were also bless to have our chairman Dr Tribhovan Jotangia present who gave a short story on the Holi festival.

“We have been looking to do it on a wider scale and hopefully we will get the support from both Hertsmere Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council.

“When I went to Oliver Dowden it was because I saw the growth in the Hindu community.

“Oliver has been such a great support. He didn’t think he realised how messy he would get.”

The event was hosted by Pandav Vidhya Shala - the Gujarati and Hindu Dharma School and run by a number of volunteers.

The festival is said to signify the victory of good over evil and the arrival of spring. It is celebrated all over the world.

This was the first ever Hindu event in Hertsmere and the intention was to bring the Hindu community together.

Mr Dowden said: “This was a great celebration – colourful and full of fun, although very messy and it was wonderful to see everyone enjoying themselves.

“Throughout the festivities there is also the serious message of good triumphing over evil, the end of winter and arrival of spring.

“This was a fantastic event that the whole community came together to enjoy. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the Hindu community a happy Holi.”

Trudy Martell, head teacher of Bushey Academy, said the academy welcomed the event to through their doors.

She said: “The Bushey Academy has long had a motto ‘Proud to Belong’ and this reflects its ethos of being a community school at the heart of Bushey.

“The academy welcomed the opportunity to open its doors to members of the community and share in their celebrations.”