THOUSANDS of people turned out to the country’s biggest festival celebrating the Hindu god Ganesh.

More than 10,000 Hindus descended on Shoebury’s East Beach for the Ganesh Visarjan on Sunday after a procession from Blackgate Road to a marquee on the beach.

Worshippers enjoyed food, live music, singing and dancing.

The festival ended with a water ceremony at 6pm, where statues of Ganesh were washed in the Thames Estuary and showered with flower petals.

Worshippers came in coaches from all over the country, including Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham, with organiser Jay Gokani, of the HounslowHindu temple in West London, describing it as a great success.