CROWDS of people flocked to an annual festival celebrating south Asian cultures.

Waltham Forest Mela showcased the best of traditional and modern music, dance and circus acts in Chestnut Fields, in Walthamstow, on Sunday.

The theme for the festival was ‘Asian fusion’ and for the first time, a fashion show was put on to give a stage for array of talented designers in the borough.

Before the big day, the show’s producer, Gina Hewitt said: “There is such a rich range of influences and style in the borough which we wanted to combine together to celebrate the Mela’s theme of Asian Fusion.

The festival also played host to sports, including Kabbadi, a traditional south Asian contact sport, music workshops, a fun fair, live entertainment and food stalls.

A pop-up exhibition celebrating the borough’s diversity in art was organised by Mehraj Art.

‘Millen’ which means ‘union’ in Hindi, featured artwork and costumes from a range of Asian cultures.

As part of World Breastfeeding Week, The HENRY Waltham Forest Infant Feeding team helped mothers at the festival get to grips with feeding their newborn babies.