Turnip fever: the Jarramplas festival in Spain

On 19 and 20 January every year, Piornal celebrates the idiosyncratic Jarramplas festival

Few teenagers dream of dressing up as a demonic cattle thief to be chased through the streets of their hometown and pelted with more than two tonnes of turnips.

But in the town of Piornal, which lies in the Caceres province of the south-western Spanish region of Extremadura, there is no greater honour.

Top: Ernesto Antonio Salgado gets a good luck kiss from his girlfriend, Paula, before heading out to face the turnip-wielding crowds. Above left: Perez, Pollo and Franchy, three of the mayordomos, or helpers, in this year's festival, pose with a drum as they prepare to help Julio Antonio Rubio Moreno into his costume. Above right: Jose y Edu, two other mayordomos, assist Ernesto as he climbs into his Jarrampla suit