Hundreds of Hindus are expected to attend a land purification ceremony for a £3.5 million temple and community centre.

Religious leaders have been planning the complex in Crawley for about eight years.

Supporters have already promised donations of about £2 million for the project, which will be the first of its kind for the town.

Planning permission for the ornate building has been granted for a three-acre site at Apple Tree Farm in Ifield.

It will include a 300sqm mandir, or temple, a 1,000sqm community centre and car park for 250 vehicles.

In the Hindu tradition, a ceremony called Bhumi Pujan, or land worship, should be carried out before building starts on the site, which is currently a field.

The event will be part of a festival on July 6 organised by the Gurjar Hindu Union in Crawley.

About 600 people are expected to attend the event, which will include prayers, sacrificial fires, food and dancing.

Ramesh Shingadia, who has helped organise the project, said: "The land sanctifying process is similar to feng shui.

"Before we can build, the land must be blessed, especially if we are planning to erect something as important as a temple.

"The festival will give everybody an opportunity to get involved. People want the chance to be a part of the process.

"In the morning there will be prayers to the land to ask for its permission and blessing to build. Three priests will attend and more than 100 people are expected to sit on the ground and offer prayers to the gods.

"There will also be sacrificial fires. In the afternoon we will have a big celebration with dancing and a buffet."

Members of the Gurjar Hindu Union are hoping the day will raise some of the £1.5 million still needed for the temple and centre.

Mr Shingadia, 45, said they aimed to raise the money within two years.

He said: "We've had lots of donations and pledges. This will be a day for people to do the honourable thing and take part in the process.

"The land sanctifying ceremony is a highly revered part of the Hindu culture."

Crawley has had a strong Hindu community for about 30 years - Hindus make up about 4,000 of the town's 100,000 population.

In 1999, a derelict building in West Green was converted into a community centre with a small Hindu temple inside.

People previously worshipped in a flat about a shop in the same area of the town.

Mr Shingadia, from Horsham, said the nearest big temple and meeting place for Hindus was Southampton.

He said: "Crawley is the hub of the Hindu community in the South-East. We have come from humble beginnings but have a growing population and the building we use at the moment is not adequate.

"We want to make the community centre available to everyone, not just the Hindu community. It's important there is integration in the town."

The centre will be used for recreational, educational and general community needs.