Locals held a spectacular rocket festival to honour late Buddhist monks in Thailand.

Amateur rocketeers brought their homemade missiles packed with gunpowder to participate in the 'Look Noo' festival in Pathum Thani as the event made a colourful return on April 2 following the recent flu pandemic.

The one-metre-long 'look noo' or 'baby mice' rockets - so-called because of the squealing sound they make during flight - are hung on cables directing their horizontal trajectory towards targets resembling crematoriums.

The projectiles, some marked with lucky incantations, shoot through the air, belching out thick white smoke.

Contestants who manage to hit their mark were awarded prizes, with the most accurate winning a 440 USD bounty.

The lively festivities were once a way to light cremation fires from a distance, but eventually evolved into a competition. It is now a homage to the ethnic Mon tribe monks from the region.

Police Lieutenant General Kamronwit Toopkrajang, head of the Provincial Administration Organisation, said: 'The festival has been held for over 600 years as a tradition for Mon communities in Pathum Thani to honour monks.

'Without efforts to conserve it, the tradition could be forgotten, which is why it is important to promote and preserve the culture through events like this.'

The locals also staged a parade of 22 groups to mark the start of the festival, which is seen to boost local tourism to the province.