Drama of real-life victim in mock plane crash in Shrewsbury

So when Shrewsbury firefighter Mike Bickford and his colleagues came across a coughing, spluttering "casualty" during a filmed exercise years ago, they put it down to over-acting.

But when he actually passed out, the penny dropped – he was being gassed by the acrid smoke from the special effects used for the fake passenger plane disaster being staged at RAF Shawbury.

So they rushed into real-life action to effect a rescue and take the victim to the medics, who took some persuading that it was not all part of the "show."

That incident came to mind for Mike, who lives now in Oswestry, after reading of the recent exercise for emergency services at the closed Ironbridge Power Station themed on a crash between an RAF jet and a helicopter.

"It reminded me of a film that was made at RAF Shawbury some time in either the late 1960s or very early 1970s. I believe it was to be a training film for personnel involved in major disasters," he said.

One Sunday morning his fire crew from Shrewsbury, together with police and ambulance crews, went to RAF Shawbury to be briefed on the making of the film in which the scenario was that the aircraft had crashed on the airfield with many casualties.

"I cannot recall what the plane was originally but it was mostly intact and sitting on its fuselage, where it had been for some time and used for RAF fire crew training.

"When the film crew were ready we drove our appliance onto the airfield with horns and blue lights. When we pulled up to the 'wreckage' someone had set off smoke candles inside the hold. What we had not been told was the fact that the 'casualties' were all members of The Casualty Union which was an organisation that specialised in providing 'patients' with very realistic injuries for film and other purposes.

Rushed

"When we climbed into the fuselage and the passenger deck we were confronted with what appeared to be dreadful injuries. There was terrible shouting and screaming. The fake blood that they used was everywhere. I recall one woman who had animal intestines stuck to her stomach. The scene was horrific.

"We started the rescues on what was a very hot and sunny day and they started to go well. Passengers were released and rescued one by one and handed over to the ambulance crews. It all went so smoothly that the film director was waving us to carry on. These so-called patients played their part so well that we really believed that they were injured."

Through a gaping hole in the passenger deck they could see down into the hold.

"There was a male CU member and he was just visible through the smoke. It was real smoke and it was very acrid. He was shouting to us and coughing loudly. Out of earshot we said that we would be with him shortly adding "you chose to climb in there so just wait your turn.' Obviously it was a little tongue in cheek as we did not believe he was in any danger."

Then the casualty started vomiting.

"We thought 'Boy, this lad is good!' But he then passed out. We rushed down below and placed him quickly on a stretcher, carried him out of the hold and ran over with him to the medics.

"By this time they were getting a little, shall we say, used to these fake injuries and in not so many words suggested that we place him in the queue and they would deal with him in due course. We had to really make a point that this one was real. They immediately resuscitated him and he recovered quite quickly. We all had a little laugh afterwards.

"While our crew from Shrewsbury worked together I cannot help feeling that there were crews from other stations there also. All I remember is that the whole exercise carried on seamlessly and the director and film crew were very pleased. We never did get to see the finished article and do not know what happened to it. Perhaps someone, somewhere, does indeed know.

"What I find most intriguing is the fact that the director had no idea that we were professional and not film actors."