WHEN a group of friends decided to break their fast publicly, hundreds of people – from the homeless to pub-goers and a hungry mum-to-be–joined in.

Organisers said there was an ‘electrifying’ atmosphere outside Blackburn Town Hall on Saturday night when the group started handing out free food as part of Ramadhan celebrations.

The idea was the brainchild of half a dozen friends who wanted a special way to observe their fast during the Muslim holy month.

After setting up marquees, 300 volunteers broke their fast and fed currys and samosas to around 150 homeless people and around 50 passers by.

One of the organisers, Blackburn student Paul Sumner, 33, said: “When we fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadhan it gives you an appreciation of what it must be like to go hungry.

“I think everyone who has broken their fast at night wonders what it is like for people with no food at all, who have to go to sleep hungry.

“It wasn’t an official idea or something we did through our mosques. We all come from different towns and mosques, but we thought this was something we could simply put on ourselves.

“We wanted to make sure that absolutely everyone felt welcome and that it would be a real event that people remembered.

“Not everyone who joined in was hungry. We welcomed people coming out of the pubs too because there was so much food.

“However, we had invited many homeless people, and people who use food banks.

“One heavily pregnant woman said to me that it was the first time she had eaten in two days.

“She said: ‘I thank you and my baby also thanks you’. There is definitely a very real need from people who can’t feed themselves at the moment.”

The organisers set up in the centre of Blackburn at 8.30pm and served people while they themselves were still observing the fast. At 9.20pm, organisers prayed and broke their fast by joining their guests in eating the food.

Great Harwood councillor Noordad Aziz, who helped organise the event, said: “Everyone really came together.

“It was so warm and friendly. Everyone who was involved went home happy. It was so inspiring that I hope we can do it bigger and better next year.”