THE tastes, aromas and colours of India were brought to a Swindon nursery as it celebrated Diwali.

Dozens of youngsters of all cultures at Jigsaw Day Nursery in Windmill Hill enjoyed the fun of the Hindu festival of light yesterday.

They were treated to a presentation by members of the Indian community in the morning and were taught all about the meaning behind the tradition.

The children, aged two to five, tasted a range of Indian foods, had the chance to dress up in traditional Indian dress, made lanterns and masks and played Indian musical instruments.

Sharene Ashim, one of the helpers for the 2-3s team, said the nursery celebrates the festival every year, but this was the first time the youngest age group took part.

She said: "We have a variety of cultures here and all different ages, and they all seemed to enjoy it.

"It is part of our curr-iculum to teach about religious festivals, so we thought we would do it in a fun way.

"I think the older children understood what it was about and it got them interested in it and while the younger ones perhaps didn't necessarily understand, it was nice for them to be able to dress up and have fun."