Hundreds gather in Eastbourne's Princes Park for Eid al-Adha celebrations

• ITV Meridian's Charlotte Wilkins has been to the celebrations being held at a park in Eastbourne for the first time.

Around 800 Muslims from across Sussex have gathered in Eastbourne to celebrate the religious festival of Eid al-Adha, and for the first time in the town’s history it’s been celebrated slightly differently.

It's the first time an open-air prayer has been held in Eastbourne to mark the occasion, taking place at Princes Park.

Eid al-Adha, which means "Feast of Sacrifice," falls at the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

It commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God's orders, and God putting an animal in his place to save him.

It's the second and larger of the two Islamic celebrations and is the start of a 4-day celebration of prayer and sharing food with family, friends and those in need.

Eid al-Fitr, or 'Festival of Breaking Fast' is the smaller of the two Eids and marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

• Russell & Ayaan Khalique, event organisers

Those attending said the turnout for the event is bigger than they had expected.

Shahanara Ahmed said: "It's the first one where we thought, why not bring the community outside and get the other communities involved with us as well."

Sultana Akther said: "We didn't think that many people would turn up because people have lots of opinions of whether it's good to do it outside, is it safe? But seeing everyone all getting together, not just from Eastbourne but from other towns, it's lovely and we're proud to be Muslim. It's amazing."

Dr Isaac Suleman, 86, is one of the elders at the local mosque.

He said the way people celebrate Eid al-Adha has changed since he came to Eastbourne.

"62 years ago, there was only one mosque and that was in London and I did go there once. Now, in Brighton, there are about three or four mosques and there is one near Hastings. These are changes which show Islam is spreading and we need more areas to pray."

Delivering his sermon, the Imam, Abdel Rahim spoke of togetherness and unity, forgiveness and respect.

Rashid Lamlilas said: "You can feel the warmth and respect between us, between Arabs, Muslims, the British, Pakistanis. As you heard, in the Imam's speech, he calls us brothers and sisters."