Firefighters have taken part in a major training exercise in Sheffield to test their rope rescue skills.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue worked with Sheffield City Council and BAM Construction Ltd on the live training scenario, which involved a casualty being trapped in the cab of a crane.

The crane based at the construction site in Charter Square which is part of the new Sheffield Retail Quarter was used for the exercise, which took place on the morning of Friday 14 July.

Two fire engines from Dearne and Central stations took part in the training.

The scenario involved a simulated medical emergency with the driver of a tower crane unable to get back down to ground level unaided. The specialist rope rescue teams had to put systems in place to rescue the casualty from the crane so that paramedics could provide medical treatment.

Station Manager Rob Holmes, said: “Our firefighters are ready to respond to a huge number of different incident types, from fires to road traffic collisions. We issue lots of guidance to our crews about the different sorts of scenarios they might come across in the line of duty, but really the best way of preparing our response is to test it out for real.”