King Charles III meets Luton residents and community leaders

King Charles III has met residents and community leaders in a visit to Luton.

He met The Ghana Society, Royal British Legion and Luton Town football academy members during his first Bedfordshire engagements since becoming monarch.

The King also officially opened the Guru Nanak Gurdwara temple, met volunteers at the Sikh Soup Kitchen and rode the airport's new shuttle system.

During the visit, a man was arrested after an egg was reportedly thrown at the King.

The monarch was temporarily steered away from crowds outside the town hall while police took him into custody.

Before the incident, the King was greeted by Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Susan Lousada and Mayor of Luton Sameera Saleem.

He also met representatives from Luton Council and the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Festus Akinbusoye, who was previously supported by the Prince's Trust.

Dorothy Llewellyn-Lewis met the King outside the town hall and said it was "just amazing".

"It was just the most special moment of my life," she said.

"I said about how I wanted him to say something nice about Luton and how we love living here."

After visiting the hall, the King officially opened the Sikh temple and spoke to volunteers at the soup kitchen.

It serves 150 vegetarian hot meals every Sunday outside the hall, in addition to a vegetarian hot meal served seven days per week, 365 days per year at the Gurdwara.

The King removed his shoes and put on a Ramaal headscarf in the temple.

He unveiled a plaque which included the date, with the monarch joking it was a good job he "turned up on the right day".

Kuldeep Singh Basra, a trustee of the Gurdwara, said it was "a good achievement for the Sikh community in Luton to host the royal visit".

Gurch Randhawa, who showed the King around the Gurdwara, called it a "momentous occasion".

The King was also one of the first people in the country to ride Luton's new DART (Direct Air-Rail Transit) transport system.

It is a cable-drawn, driverless railway running on a 1.4-mile (2.2km) line connecting Luton Airport Parkway station to the airport terminal in just over three minutes.

The 24-hour link will replace shuttle buses that pick up passengers every 10 minutes once it opens next year.

Pupils from Cardinal Newman Catholic School sung to him in the terminal, but they were not told of the King's visit until the school made a surprise announcement during their rehearsals.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]