Trainee firefighters will stage a dramatic rescue of Didcot's Mayor from a crashed car to highlight the dangers of not wearing a seatbelt, speeding, taking drink or drugs, and distraction.

The Mayor, councillor Mocky Khan, has volunteered to role-play a driver trapped inside a crumpled vehicle, at the town’s fire station next week. He will have to face the claustrophobia of being trapped inside, relying on the expertise of Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service to cut him free.

Andy Ford, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s road safety manager, said: “As the Mayor of Didcot will discover, it is terrifying being trapped. But imagine if you’ve suffered major injury, or if the vehicle is ablaze, or slowly submerging in water following a crash into a river or lake.”

Once the Mayor is rescued from the crashed car he will be given a guided tour of the new training centre at Didcot Fire Station. It is now the county's central hub for road traffic collision training. The venue gives crews an all-weather facility to practice rescue techniques for a range of traffic incidents, from motorcyclists to crashes involving buses and large goods vehicles.

The car cut exercise helps trainees gain experience using rescue equipment and real people, in a safe and controlled environment. It prepares them to play a part in the ongoing road safety campaign ‘It’s not worth the risk’. The campaign highlights the contributory factors in road traffic collisions.

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