Fire officers from around the globe felt the heat as they were questioned by journalism students at a training day designed to hone their media skills.

The aircraft fire fighters from Dubai, Durham Tees Valley and The British Virgin Islands airports, were grilled by students and staff as part of a media training day at Darlington College.

The training was part of a six week course hosted by the International Fire Training Centre based at Durham Tees Valley Airport. It is designed to prepare fire officers for dealing with media enquiries in the event of a major airport incident.

Darlington College tutor John Gibb said: "The aim is to make the training as realistic as possible to prepare them for a real event.

"Today we have a culture of 24-hour news and the chances of these officers having to speak to the media in the event of a serious incident is very real."

College tutors covered the whole range of media interviews, including newspapers, TV, radio and a full televised press conference.

International Fire Training Centre Station Officer Colin Hutchinson, said: "It was an extremely good course and I think all the trainees will feel the benefit when dealing with the press in the future."

Deputy Chief Fire Officer in the British Virgin Islands, Lorrie George, said: "This is all pretty new to me and has been quite an experience. But I have learnt how to talk to the press and to give them the right information at the right time."