FIRE crews in Swindon put their mettle to the test earlier this month as they tackled a hazardous water course as part of their intense training regime.

Firefighters from Stratton Fire Station spent a day at the Cardiff International White Water centre in South Wales to brush up on their indispensable life-saving skills.

Station manager Ant Bholah said: “This is all part of the on-going training that the firefighters have to undertake. For part of that training we use the water facility in Cardiff once a year in order to give the crew a good refresher.

“The Cardiff facility is fantastic because it enables us to recreate real life situations. Because of the speed and depth of the water we are able to test ourselves in difficult situations.”

The Stratton crew specialises in water and animal rescue operations and participants found the training day hugely beneficial.

“Days like this are really valuable because they help us to train for adverse weather conditions in the winter period,” said Ant.

“Different fire crews across the country have different specialisms and Dorset and Wiltshire are identified as being particularly prone to flooding, so it’s important that we know how to handle situations when they arise.”

The centre in Cardiff is a world-famous white water rafting facility that offers everything from family days out to corporate team building sessions.

Emergency crews from all over the country use its state of the art facilities to hone their skills.

Five members of the Stratton fire crew attended the training day. Ant said: “Everyone really enjoyed it. Obviously there is a serious side to it, and it is very hazardous, but they loved it because they got to jump into fast flowing rivers all day.”