Preparing for the worst: RAF Lossiemouth tests response to airfield emergency

RAF Lossiemouth has been testing its capability to deal with an emergency incident while continuing to protect the UK northern airspace.

Personnel have been training alongside civilian emergency services on the base as part of Exercise Agile Warrior.

They have practised responding to a serious incident on the base involving multiple casualties and a fuel spillage from a tanker involved in the collision.

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It is part of wider training for RAF Lossiemouth, making sure the personnel can carry out their jobs under pressure.

Squadron Leader Peter Armitage said: "RAF Lossiemouth's raison d 'être is to maintain Quick Reaction Alert, global air mobility, P-8 operations, and we like to think doing that in isolation is fine, but we need to work with our partners across the board.

"It was a really good opportunity to liaise with our civilian partners in the civilian fire, civilian ambulance, civilian police, and really form that cohesive unit between the military side and the civilian side to conduct lifesaving training and work together in times of conflict."

All branches of the civilian emergency services took part in the training with Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as well as the Scottish Ambulance Service involved in the exercise.

Clinical Team Leader Lewis Moggah said: "It's really important. It's an active base, so we do get calls to come here, so it's important that we familiarise ourselves with the base.

"But it was just a really great exercise to work with the RAF.

"Police, medical services, every service that was here today, the fire, the police, the ambulance; it all just went well."

Rich Trott, the station manager with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, added: "The training event is absolutely ideal. It's been great for both us and the military fire service.

"They managed to get hands-on, cutting up the car as well as working on the spill and mobilising to these sorts of incidents because it's not something we do on a regular basis, and a lot of their training will be different to this side of things."