STUDENTS from Marlwood School in Alveston learned some valuable lessons about road safety when police and emergency services staged an emergency training exercise.

In a mock-up road collision, one passenger was left seriously hurt and needed urgent medical treatment after being freed from a crashed car by Thornbury fire crews using hydraulic cutting equipment.

Meanwhile, police with flashing lights and wailing sirens pursuing a stolen car that caused the collision let loose their dogs to arrest a driver who’d run away. Police dog Ernie – a ferocious but highly-trained German Shepherd – gave chase and soon had the driver surrendering.

Then police dog Berkeley was sent out using his acute tracking senses to find any stolen and discarded property - in this case the stolen car’s keys that the fleeing driver had thrown away.

Marlwood head teacher James Pope told the watching students: “This is a very special morning that will provide you with a fantastic educational opportunity to learn about road safety and the work of all the emergency services.”

Alan Hale, from South Gloucestershire Council’s Road Safety Team, said: “The aim of this exercise is to teach you some road safety lessons that will help look after you in your young lives, and help ensure that you never get involved in a road collision of any sort.”

The tri-force emergency services event was organised by the Road Safety Team and Thornbury and Alveston beat manager PC Sean White. It was conceived as part of the Thornbury Carnival Fringe.