Your mother may have warned you not to play with your food, but should you ever end up in Buñol in Spain on the last Wednesday of August, her sage advice can be roundly ignored.

This is the day for the town's Tomatina festival, taking its name from the simple tomato, which has pride of place at the centre of this annual foodfight.

This year, a record number of over 40,000 participants travelled from all over the world to join in a tradition that dates back 61 years and pelt each other with some 110 tonnes of tomatoes.

At eleven o'clock on the dot yesterday, a rocket blast signalled the commencement of the Tomatina, and truckloads of tomatoes let loose their wares on the crowds around Buñol's main plaza. For the next hour, the town was painted red as squashed tomatoes flew through the air and coated the streets and all therein.

Participants who ended up covered head-to-toe in this local produce were assured by the town's officials that the acidic content of the tomato was in fact beneficial to their skin, and that even the streets would be cleaner after their tomato bath.

As random as this bizarre Buñol custom may seem, there are still rules to be adhered to, and those participating are asked to squash the tomatoes before letting them fly, in order to ensure nobody gets knocked out by the unexpected arrival of an entire, unripe fruit. Green tomatoes are not allowed.