EMERGENCY services practised for the nightmare scenario of an emergency at Bournemouth Airport on Thursday evening.

Police officers, Dorset Fire and Rescue crews, paramedics, Urban Search and Rescue workers and volunteers from St John Ambulance and the Red Cross were all involved in the exercise, which took place on the runway.

Crews were told that the undercarriage of a Boeing 737-300 had failed upon landing, and were tasked to aid casualties and ensure the plane was safe.

They were told that the flight had 106 passengers on board, with casualties remaining inside the plane.

Volunteers dressed as the ‘walking wounded’ assisted with the full-scale simulation.

A fire service district commander Tweeted regular updates during the exercise, sharing images of ‘passengers’ aboard a bus and lying prone on the floor of the plane.

The emergency exercise began at 7.30pm this evening.

The aim of the event was to give emergency services the chance to train to respond to a serious incident at the airport.

A number of emergency vehicles were in operation at the site as the live simulation took place.