Mexico celebrates giant tortilla

A Mexican city has celebrated the 468th anniversary of its founding with what it believes is a world record - the biggest ever tortilla.

The residents of the southern city of Oaxaca baked the giant delicacy, measuring 4.4 meters in diameter.

Ground from corn and wheat, tortillas have been the staple of the Mexican diet since pre-Colombian times.

The giant tortilla in Oaxaca was then topped with 20kg of beans, 30kg each of cheese and beef, and 20 litres of salsa - to produce another Mexican delicacy, the taco.

Officials of Oaxaca, 450km (275 miles) south of Mexico City, said they were unaware of any existing records for the world's largest tortilla.

Regular-sized tortillas were traditionally hand-made by women, who still in many homes pat the dough out into small pancakes using the palm of their hands, before putting them onto a skillet to cook.