A Sikh festival was celebrated by a charity, which supports the elderly Indian community in Redbridge, with a special meal at a Newbury Park restaurant.

Members of the Redbridge Indian Welfare Association (RIWA) invited the community to celebrate Vaisakhi at Masala Restaurant, Eastern Avenue, on Wednesday of last week.

The annual festival commemorates the establishment of the Khalsa and traditionally occurs in Punjab with the first harvesting of the crops.

General secretary Ram Bhandari said: “We celebrate the very special and significant Sikh festival with a meal each year and it is always a lovely event.

“It is nice to bring everyone together and everyone was so happy to be welcoming the new year.”

RIWA is a non-political charity which works towards helping elderly residents of Indian origin in the borough.