FIREFIGHTERS demonstrated their life-saving skills against the clock during a series of demanding rescue challenges.

Fire crews competed against one another during the contest at Webbs at Wychbold, near Droitwich on Saturday, July 16 as they battled to win a place in the national UKRO (United Kingdom Rescue Organisation) Challenge 2016.

Twelve teams from across the country took part in the road traffic collision challenge and nine teams competed in the trauma challenge.

The trauma challenge involved a selection of trauma incidents where fire crews were expected to quickly identify and treat the injuries found.

The road traffic collision challenge saw crews working to safely extricate trapped casualties from a challenging road traffic crash scenario within a 20 minutes timeframe.

During the challenges, the teams were independently assessed under the scrutiny of experienced UKRO officials in order to determine the winners of each category. The Ross-on-Wye team won the road traffic collision challenge and a mixed Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue team consisting of Jayne Collins and Simon Griffiths won the trauma challenge.

These teams will now go through to compete in the national UKRO Challenge 2016, which will be held in Hampshire in September this year.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer John Hodges awarded the winners with their awards and said: “I’d like to congratulate the winners and wish them every success in the national competition.

"I’d also like to say thank you to all of the other crews that competed in the challenges.

“These competitions allow us to share best practice with other services and ensure that we are able to make a difference where it counts, by improving patient care and ultimately saving lives.”