Warwickshire Police to take part in joint major incident training exercise

Warwickshire Police will be holding a joint training exercise with the Royal Air Force and other emergency services next week.

The exercise will simulate a military aircraft accident and will take place on Tuesday, June 5 and Wednesday, June 6 at Warwickshire Police’s site in Leek Wootton.

Police have written to all local residents to inform them of disruption in the area during the exercise, including the closure of Woodcote Lane in Leek Wootton.

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Andrew Ware, emergency planning officer for Warwickshire Police, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for our officers and other local emergency services to check our readiness for a major incident of this kind.

“To allow the exercise to take place there will be some disruption in the local area, including a road closure; however, we will try to keep this to a minimum.

“We have written to all local residents to inform them of the disruption and I would like to thank them in advance for their support and understanding.

“These types of exercises are extremely important. Fortunately, major incidents of the type we will be simulating are extremely rare.

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“Therefore, it is vital that we use training exercises like this to test our preparedness in case such an incident happens.”

Wing Commander Alex Stylianides from the Royal Air Force added: “In the rare event that a military aircraft crashes we need to be sure we can respond promptly and effectively. In such an event we would work with emergency services to respond to the incident.

“We carry out exercises of this type every couple of years. A year’s worth of planning has gone into this exercise to ensure disruption to the local community is kept to a minimum.

“I’d like to thank local people in advance for their patience while we conduct this exercise. I am happy to respond to any queries they have about the exercise or the disruption it will cause.”

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Police have warned of the following disruption during the exercise:

There will be an increase in the number of large vehicles arriving at the site, although all responding agencies have been directed not to enter Woodcote Lane from the Warwick road, but are to approach from Rouncil Lane.

There will be NO gun fire or explosions. You may see smoke coming from the woodland at the start of the exercise between 9am and 11.30am on Tuesday 5 June. This will be generated by smoke machines. There will not be any fires on the site.

Woodcote Lane will be shut from 8am on 5 June to 7pm on 6 June. Access to residential properties and Warwickshire Police headquarters will be allowed via the Warwick Road junction next to the Anker Inn. Barriers will placed across Woodcote Lane. Entrance to Woodcote lane will not be allowed from Rouncil Lane between these times.

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We advise people not to enter the woodland area either side of Woodcote Lane from 2pm on Monday 4 June until 4pm on Wednesday 6 June as the Royal Air Force will be setting up equipment.

If anyone has any concerns, or requires any further information contact Andrew Ware at Warwickshire Police by emailing: [email protected] or by calling 07789 924842.