Shi'ite Muslims brought parts of south Manchester to standstill as part of a ritual self-flagellation procession.

Shi'ites in Rusholme and across the world took part in the activity to mark the martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

The event, called Ashura, is a major religious commemoration marking the death of Imam Hussein at the Battle of Karbala in the seventh century in what is now Iraq.

It always falls on the tenth day of Muharra, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

Devotees take part in fasting and remove their tops to beat their chests, in some cases drawing blood, to show solidarity with the martyr Hussein.

The procession wound its way along Wilmslow Road in Rusholme on Friday afternoon. A number of roads were closed and buses were diverted to allow the procession to take place.