Hindus across Southend have stepped up their search to find a permanent place of worship.

For 30 years, leaders of the Southend Hindu Association have been seeking a large building in the town to convert into a temple.

The nearest is in London, which means the association has to hire school halls and community centres to hold communal worship and host its religious festivals and meetings. So far around £100,000 has been raised.

The association's aim is to model their place of worship on the successful Share-It community centre run by the Muslim community as part of Southend Mosque, in West Road, Westcliff. The Share-It centre runs education and health courses and provides a social support network.

Association president, Nirmal Gupta, said: "Ideally we would like an old church or similar-sized vacant building and naturally we would not like it in a residential area. I am really desperate to have something which will not only serve the Hindu community but all who live in Essex."

Manji Solanki, organising secretary of the association, added: "It will mean a lot as it will bring the whole community together." The association will use Westcliff High School for Girls to host one of the largest religious festivals on the Hindu calendar, running for nine days from Friday.

Mrs Gupta, a science teacher at Shoeburyness High School, added: "We are paying a lot out to hire community halls and schools when we could be ploughing money into a permanent temple."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.