Soldiers stage mock chemical attack

Soldiers teamed up with emergency services to deal with a mock chemical attack in possibly the biggest exercise of its kind in Britain.

Nearly 900 troops, police, firefighters and paramedics took part in the simulated incident at Dalton Barracks, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

One aspect of the exercise involved dealing with evacuees with special dietary requirements because of their religion or their health.

An Army spokesman said: "This is possibly the biggest and certainly one of the biggest exercises of its kind to be staged in the country."

The Territorial Army troops from the Thames Valley and Hampshire were part of the new Civil Contingencies Reaction Force (CCRF).

Set up in the wake of September 11, they would come under police command in the event of natural disasters, accidents or terrorist attacks.

The exercise involved troops establishing a reception centre to cope with a large-scale evacuation after a "major chemical incident".

Meanwhile fire and rescue Services from Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire sealed off the area and began "decontaminating" people.

They worked closely with police, the ambulance service and local council representatives in the exercise, codenamed Autumn Roebuck 2,

Some 400 soldiers and cadets acted as civilians while 200 soldiers, 150 firefighters with 30 appliances and 60 police officers took part.

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