Hindus have gathered to celebrate one of the religion's most celebrated figures, Lord Hanuman's birthday.

Devotees recited the same hymn 108 times in total as they took part in festivities held at at Medway Hindu Mandir temple on Canterbury Road, Gillingham.

The spectacle took place last Thursday and lasted over five hours.

In Hinduism, Hanuman, the monkey god, is one of the most worshipped figures in Indian religion and is a symbol of strength and knowledge.

His birthday, which falls upon the full moon day of the chaitra month, is an important date in the Hindu calendar, particularly for followers from certain parts of India.

General secretary for the temple's committee, Ajay Attra said: "People from different states worship different deities so in the North of India, it's all Ram, Hanuman and Krishna."

Among other holy rituals, believers repeat the hymn 'Hanuman Chalisa' more than a hundred times to gain strength and positivity from the monkey like god.

The temple is the only Hindu Mandir in the Medway area and has been serving the local community for the past thirty years.

It follows the religious concept of Samatva as its foundation, meaning that it believes in an all encompassing state of equality.

"We have people from different states," added Ajay. "Typically, different states have different languages and different ways of worship but we’re bringing that all together.

"We have people from all over India, so people like Punjabis, Gujaratis, Kerelans to people from Bihar and Chennai, so it's nice to bring everyone together."