On Monday residents and visitors of Galaxidi marked the end of the carnival season and the start of the Lenten fast with a ‘flour war’.

The seaside town, located 200 kilometres west of Athens, came alive with participants running wild and showering one another with bags of brightly dyed flour.

The event takes place for a few hours annually every Clean Monday along the coastal road that lines the town’s old harbour, attracting visitors from across Greece and abroad.

Traditionally it kicks off with the ringing of cow bells, giving participants the go ahead to commence the parade and try to cover one another in as much flour as possible.

To protect themselves and their homes, locals cover buildings in plastic sheeting and also wear plastic suits and goggles. Meanwhile those who wish to partake purely as spectators observe the shenanigans from afar, across the village quay.

While an initiation of the Orthodox Christian holiday of Clean Monday, the ‘flour war’ also marks the end of carnival season, referred to as apokries, which dates back to Greece’s pre-Christian era.