Journalism students at the University of Central Lancashire have taken part in a mock disaster at Blackpool Airport.

Meg Jorsh, a student on the Post-graduate Diploma in Newspaper Journalism, describes the action:

A wrecked plane is burning on the runway of Blackpool Airport.

In driving sleet, two journalists march grimly across a neighbouring golf course. They need those pictures.

Luckily for Blackpool, only the journalists were real.

The UCLan journalism students were playing the part of media at a Lancashire Council emergency planning exercise, codenamed Operation Sandstorm.

Event organiser David Stott praised the seven undergraduate and postgraduate volunteers.

He said: “I thought they were excellent. They used their initiative and they were very enthusiastic.”

A 747 training rig and 30 volunteer “injured” were used to create the realistic disaster.

Airport staff set the rig on fire before calling the emergency services, which were instructed to respond as usual.

The press was on hand to test the council’s media response.

David, a senior emergency planning officer at Lancashire Council, hailed the exercise a success.

He said: “The authorities didn’t realise the use they could make of the media in handling that sort of situation. We managed to demonstrate the need to get the media on their side.”

Neil Vowles, a postgraduate Newspaper Journalism student, said: “Although we were playing, it was very easy to get into the roles of what we’d really do.

“We learned what it’s like to be on the cutting edge of a news story.”

Students worked together with experienced journalists from around the country.

Neil, (23), added: “It was good to see them taking it just as seriously as us. A lot of energy and passion went into it.”