STUDENTS from Accrington and Rossendale College helped emergency crews to recreate the horrendous aftermath of a serious road traffic crash at an accident blackspot yesterday.

Emergency services stage-managed a two-vehicle crash in Colne Road, Burnley, to hone their skills.

Lancashire Constabulary, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Services and the NHS Ambulance Services gathered at a point where a quarter of Burnley's road accidents occur.

They showed how they manage, on many occasions, to save people's lives following serious collisions.

Students from the college were victims for the day while pupils and staff from Barden High School carried out research among members of the public to gauge their reaction to the scenes of devastation emergency crews are faced with.

The site was selected close to a traffic camera in Colne Road, near Murray Street. There had been 18 casualties of road traffic accidents - of which three were killed and 15 seriously injured - prior to the installation of the camera in 2001.

Linda Sanderson, from the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety said: "The work of the Partnership is about saving lives. We want to eliminate road crashes and the suffering caused to victims, families and friends.

"This initiative is one of many that are being staged around the County to demonstrate the tremendous work carried out by our emergency services and to highlight to the public the possible consequences of people speeding, drink driving and not wearing their seat belts".

Sgt Martin Bishop, from the road policing unit said: "The fire service and the police identified the location because we were aware of the large number of casualties at this particular site and also that this included child pedestrians and cyclists.

"Using this medium to promote road safety has a proven impact on the local community. We want the community to know that the actions that we take will reduce the numbers of deaths and injuries on our roads".

And Station Commander at Burnley Fire Station, Kevin Murray added: "It is essential we get road safety messages firmly on to the agenda for all road users and pedestrians. The media are key allies to help us do this and we would see an event such as this, geared for maximum publicity, as a valuable opportunity to get those messages across with even more emphasis."