THE EMERGENCY services rushed to a helicopter crash exercise at the Ministry of Defence site in Corsham designed to test their response to a major incident.

The Local Resilience Forum worked together with the Ministry of Defence for six months to coordinate the two two-hour exercises dubbed Operation Manhattan which took place at the recently refurbished Corsham site on Friday.

The exercise, which involved the wreckage of a helicopter and simulated with casualties and fatalities from organisation Action Amps, portrayed a realistic scenario for agencies such as Wiltshire Police, Dorset and Fire Rescue Service, Wiltshire Council, South Western Ambulance Service, NHS England and the Environmental Agency to react to.

Local Resilience Forum manager Paul Williams said: "We have got the carcass of a helicopter with amputees in action with realistic injuries and the emergency services had to respond. It is not an every day occurrence and it is different - we know helicopters can crash and one did in Glasgow not so long ago, and helicopters present different challenges because of what they are made of. It is a different challenge to those that present themselves every day to the emergency services."

During the morning, agencies worked together to tackle the 'live' scenario while in the afternoon, commanders were brought together to examine their responses at different levels with a wider consideration to recovery and returning the area back to normal with the cooperation of the police and council.

Bob Young, Major Incident Planning Manager for Wiltshire Police said: "Today is a good opportunity for partner agencies to test their response to an incident and work with colleagues from the MOD to ensure that we understand what is required and the capabilities of each organisation. It is always good for us to exercise our plans and learn lessons for the future."

The exercises also allowed Wiltshire Council to test its Survivor Reception Centre concept where actors with injuries from the evacuated area were treated.

Mike Veale, Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police and Chair of the Local Resilience Forum, said: "Exercise Manhattan has been a really good opportunity to test and exercise our plans in conjunction with MOD colleagues.

"I would emphasise that major incidents are, thankfully, relatively rare in Wiltshire and Swindon. However, the Local Resilience Forum regularly works together for incidents such as flooding, adverse weather or any incident where more than one agency is involved."