AS the sunset on Fort Royal Park, people from all faiths helped Worcester Muslims break their fast for Ramadan.

Around 300 people stopped by the park between 7pm and 10pm to hear speeches, children reading from the Quran, and enjoy games.

People brought dishes to share as well as food to donate to Worcester Foodbank and took part in a trail and colouring competition.

Food was also donated by Munchies, Pizza Milano and Altafs.

As the park off Wyld's Lane went dark, the fast was opened and people enjoyed plates full of pakora, pizza, samosas, chicken, fresh fruit and cakes.

Officers from West Mercia Police also attended and superintendent Kevin Purcell gave a speech letting those gathered know that hate crimes would not be tolerated and urging people to report them.

Mayor of Worcester Paul Denham also gave a rousing speech calling on people to look out for one another.

"There are always people in society who wish to attack people who are different from themselves.

"We've been very lucky in Worcester as we are a relatively peaceful city compared to other places in the country.

"That only happens if we work together.

"Everyone is born equal no matter what your skin colour or your religion.

"We need to treat each other with respect and look out for each other and resist any attempt from people who don't think the same way from harming that."

Sarfaraz Yousaf, one of the organisers, said: "It was great to see kids enjoying the park from different faiths.

"The vision is to make this an annual event during Ramadan.

"It was great to see the support from the community for the food bank.

"Ramadan is a month of giving and also in Islam it is a fundamental to make sure your neighbours don't go hungry.

"Hopefully, as a Muslim community, we will be working closer with the food bank."

Cllr Lynn Denham, chair of Friends of Fort Royal Park, said: "It was the second year the event was run and it is about sharing the experience of Ramadan and breaking the fast after the sunsets and sharing that with the community.

"It was a success last year and we took on board some of the feedback because it was help on a Sunday evening and we decided to hold it on a Saturday to enable more children and families to participate."

Cllr Jabba Riaz called the event "a beacon of hope for people".

"It was really nice to see the children playing together peacefully and we couldn't have expected anything better.

"There were quite a lot of new faces this time compared to last time and everyone was talking to each other and explaining the purpose of the event and what ramadan is about.

"There were food bank donations and food was give to St Paul's Hostel and lots of food was given to those who could not stay for the breaking of the fast.

"It was good to see Supt Kevin Purcell there to show his support for these kind of events especially in a week where there has been the Brexit backlash.

"We have in Worcester a beacon of hope for other communities, we have a good cohesive faith forum and the outreach work with the Cathedral and mosque does bring communities together."