Valencia (Spain), Aug 30 (DPA) Nearly 40,000 people bombarded each other with more than 100 tonnes of tomatoes Wednesday in one of Spain's most original summer festivals.

Throwing tomatoes is "wonderful for getting rid of stress", said Pilar Garrigues, culture councillor in the eastern town of Bunol, where the festival known as La Tomatina started spontaneously six decades ago.

Five lorries dumped more than 110 tonnes of mushy tomatoes in the town centre. By the time the one-hour battle was over, the streets were filled with tomato-covered participants ankle-deep in tomatoes between splattered houses.

Participants rushed to use the 500 showers prepared for the purpose, while squads of cleaners moved in to clean up the mess.

The Tomatina is believed to have begun in 1945, when a scuffle broke out between two groups of youths and fruit stalls were overturned. One of the stalls was full of tomatoes, and the first tomato fight lasted throughout the evening.

For 15 years local authorities have tried to ban the event, but its popularity is growing and the festival now draws tens of thousands of visitors annually from as far away as Japan, Australia and the US.