Huge flood exercise takes place

Parts of Staffordshire suffered flooding in July 2007

Emergency services have taken part in a Staffordshire-wide flood response exercise, one of the largest to be held in the Midlands.

The three-day event, known as White Water, involved a scenario of simultaneous floods across the county.

Participants were visited by a mock home secretary who interviewed them about their response.

The armed forces, local authorities, health organisations, emergency and volunteers took part.

Details were not released to those taking part until the last minute.

The first two days and one night involved 130 staff taking part in field events, followed by the "home secretary" visit on Wednesday.

Large areas of the county experienced problems during the summer flooding of 2007, including Fazeley and Elford, near Lichfield, Burton-on-Trent, Stafford and Kidsgrove.