JOYOUS Muslims in Burnley took to the streets and mosques as the Asian community celebrated Eid.

The Muslim "Christmas" marking the end of the Ramadan fasting period and triggered by the first sighting of the new moon, brought twin celebrations, with some sections marking yesterday's siting in Saudi Arabia, home of Mecca and others recognising today's European new moon.

It brought two days of religious and family activities, with the Bangladeshi Burns Street mosque packed with 500 worshippers yesterday and large gatherings at the Colne Road mosque today.

For families, it was a day off work and school as parents and children dressed in special new outfits, exchanged gifts and made the traditional visits to friends' houses where each home competed to lay on the best food spread, using their own recipes to tempt visitors.

For community leader Coun Mozaquir Ali, the expected tour of friends' homes meant 300 calls in the Daneshouse area - and something to eat at every one!

"I must have sipped 200-250 teas during the day and had a bite of something at every house - not to do so would have been disrespectful," he said.

It was a non-uniform day and the chance to see the new dresses and boys' outfits at Stoneyholme Primary School as the school supported the Eid celebrations. Only about half the 400 kids were there today - with headmaster Colin Wills expressing disappointment that some parents had kept their youngsters off school for both days rather than the one allowed.

"Keeping them away two days is disrupting the children's education and we are concerned about that.

"It would be better , of course, if agreement could be reached on everyone celebrating just one day," he added.

Worshippers at Pendle's largest mosque were left with a parking problem as more than 2,000 people, some from as far away as Manchester, gathered to mark the end of Ramadan.

Work on building the new Morrison's supermarket meant spaces in the neighbouring Clayton Street car park were not available to the hundreds of cars that made their way to the Jamia Masjid Ghusia Mosque, Nelson.

Instead worshippers used every available parking space around the mosque, and some fell foul of the police who issued a number of parking tickets.

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