MUSLIMS across East Lancashire were celebrating Eid today.

The Eid al-Adha festival, which always takes place during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca known as the Hajj, will begin with prayers at mosques across the area.

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The biggest communal celebration will take place at Blackburn’s Corporation Park, with prayers taking place at 9.30am, before the park hosts an Eid in the Park festival this weekend.

During Eid celebrations in July, Walverden Park in Nelson held a similar event, but that isn’t taking place this time.

Abdul Qureshi, chairman of the Lancashire Council of Mosques and director of Building Bridges Burnley, said: “It is a big celebration for the community and everyone is together and united.

"All the mosques in East Lancashire will be holding prayers between 7.30am and 10am and people will be celebrating together throughout the day.

“There is an event at Corporation Park in Blackburn which I’m sure will be well attended.”

The Corporation Park event has been organised by Ashfaq Ahmed and he is hoping for a good turnout this weekend.

He said: “This is the second event we have held in the park. The first was on July 17 and 18 and it went very well.

“We had excellent support from the community. Local residents were happy with how it went, the council were happy, police were happy and the park wardens were happy.

“This will be the second event and we’re hoping it will go just as well. We want to continue holding regular events in the park.

“There will be prayers today but the festival will take place at the weekend. There will be a fun fair, stalls, donkey rides, food and drink.

“We’re hoping the weather will be great. The forecast is for a bit of an Indian summer this weekend so if it’s nice and sunny hopefully plenty of people will come down to the park.”

Forecasters are predicting dry days today and over the weekend.