FIRE crews took part in a training exercise at Southend Airport to practice their response to a crash landing.

Firefighters from Southend, Rochford and Leigh were joined by the airport’s own on-site fire crews for the exercise on Tuesday evening.

During the exercise, crews were alerted to an actual incident and paused the exercise to race to the other side of the airport.

The aircraft landed safely and the crews were able to continue with their planned exercise.

A fire service spokesman said: “We would like to thank everyone at Southend Airport for their support and enthusiasm in this exercise.

“The crews learnt a lot and enjoyed meeting and working with the on-site fire crews.

“We are looking forward to working with the airport on other scenarios the near future.”