A Hindu woman and her Jewish soulmate have married in what is believed to be the UK's first interfaith lesbian wedding.

Kalavati Mistry and Miriam Jefferson met more than 20 years ago on a training course in America, and tied the knot on Saturday in a Hindu ceremony, wearing traditional red-and-white bridal colours.

Ms Mistry, 48, had kept her sexuality a secret for years and said it had been "very difficult for me as an Asian gay woman".

But her friends and family have been "welcoming and embracing" to Ms Jefferson since she revealed their relationship, she said, adding: "I hope many many gay people - no matter what religion or culture they're in - are in loving relationships."

The couple, who both work for an interfaith organisation, married at the Chutney Ivy restaurant in Leicester.

Ms Jefferson revealed they had already had a Jewish wedding in her hometown of San Antonio, Texas, earlier this year.

She told Mail Online: "It's really nice to now have a Hindu wedding here, because it brings both of us together and completes both of us in my eyes."