THOUSANDS headed to Poole's Baiter Park for the first day of the annual Thai Festival.

Now in it's fifth year, the festival has become a staple in the town's calendar.

The festival, which runs from 10am to 7pm on both Saturday and Sunday, opened this morning with Buddhist monks chanting a blessing and being offered food.

After that the packed programme included a mixture of the ancient and modern, from folk songs and dances to lady boy shows and cookery demonstrations.

There was a chance to unwind with a traditional Thai massage as well as the opportunity to get in the ring with some world class Muay Thai boxers.

Visitors also enjoyed dozens of stalls offering authentic food and drink, crafts and Thai produce.

According to organiser Jackie Winitkun one of the main highlights of this year's festival will be dining challenge 'I’m British, Get Me Out Of Here'.

She said: “People taking part eat things like maggots and smelly fruit. It's always a big crowd pleaser and a real highlight for many of our regular festival-goers.

"The lady boys show is also really popular and this year was no different.

"Thankfully the bad weather today didn't dampen our spirits and we had around 5,000 visitors show up."

This year the festival has also welcomed famous Thai pop-band Seal.

According to Jackie the group is very popular in the far east and had travelled all the way from Thailand just to perform at the festival.

She added: "When I first started organising this festival people in the area weren't really sure what to expect but now we get a much bigger welcome from locals.

"Many people will never get the chance to visit Thailand so I see this as a chance to bring a little piece of it to Poole."

James Horton, who lives in Poole, visited the festival with his wife Louise and their two children.

He said: "This is the third year we have attended this event and we absolutely love it.

"Unfortunately this year has been a bit wet but that hasn't stopped all the entertainment from carrying on. It's a great atmosphere."

Meanwhile good friends Sarah Humphreys, 26, and Justine Smith, 27, visited the festival for the first time this year.

"It's quite interesting to see all the different parts of Thai culture," said Sarah.

"There are a lot of assumptions and stereotypes but it's great to find out about all the ancient traditions as well."

As well as the festival in Poole Jackie's company Magic of Thailand has also organised Thai festivals in Bath, Cambridge and Brighton.