YOUNG firefighters showed their skills on the frontline of fire and rescue to mark an international campaign to reduce road casualties.

Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service’s young firefighters put their skills to the test in a live road traffic demonstration in Hexham last Wednesday.

Alongside firefighters from Hexham fire station, the youngsters, aged 13 to 17, staged a road accident and worked together to free ‘casualties’ from the wreckage.

In the exercise they used specialist equipment and put the skills they have learned as members of the Young Firefighters Association into practice.

The event was held to mark the first European day without a road death (EDWARD).

In 2015, 17 people lost their lives on the region’s roads and a further 136 suffered serious injuries.

Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service’s deputy chief fire officer Mark McCarty said: “This day of action is to highlight the importance of road safety across Northumberland, the UK and Europe.”

“Every year, people suffer serious injuries and sadly die on our roads, despite cars becoming safer. Many of these are entirely preventable.

“The fire service works closely with the police and other agencies to help prevent road traffic collisions and to help educate people.

“These activities and demonstrations give people an opportunity to experience the devastating consequences of a road traffic collision.”

Northumbria Police’s Op Dragoon team is also supporting the EDWARD campaign.

The team’s work to educate people about road safety has already seen a 32 per cent drop in road fatalities in the last year.

Chief Inspector John Heckels, head of the Op Dragoon team, said: “Hopefully this campaign can make people think twice when they get behind the wheel because motorists often fall into the trap of thinking they are invincible – that is simply not the case.”

Chief Operating Officer for the North East Ambulance Service Paul Liversidge added: “We urge everyone to take note of the messages behind this initiative – we don’t want to see you in the back of an ambulance.”