PICTURES: Thousands take to streets of Wolverhampton for Vaisakhi festival

The holy procession on Sunday weaved its way through a four-hour journey around the city.

It started at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Sedgley Street at 10.30am and thousands of people joined the parade which stopped at a selection of other temples on the way.

The Gurdwara's general manager Manjit Singh said the day had been a fantastic community occasion.

He said: "We had a big congregation, more than 5,000 people came out for the festival.

"It was lovely and the weather was fantastic - it was a nice spring day which brought out the congregation in their masses.

"It's been really pleasant and successful."

The procession originated in the Punjab region of India as a harvest festival.

The annual Vaisakhi parade marks the birth of the Sikh nation in 1699.

Mr Singh said: "This is the first occasion that marks the constitution of a nation.

"People wore very traditional dress from the Sikh community that orginates in Punjab."

Local dignitaries including Wolverhampton Council leader Councillor Roger Lawrence and MPs Pat McFadden and Rob Marris also took part in the parade.

A rolling road closure succeeded the procession around the city.

After starting at 10.30am it finished at around 2.30pm.

The procession started and finished at Baggott Street and proceeded via Bromley Street, Dudley Road, Wolverhampton Road East, Dudding Road, Dudley Walk, Ednam Road and Goldthorn Hill, Upper Villiers Street, Bromley Street and Baggott Street.