Mangled train carriages, tonnes of rubble and bloodied bodies all made for an interesting lesson for college students who took part in Europe’s largest disaster training exercise.

Those studying a public services course at North Kent College were among the volunteers at the four-day event which simulated the collapse of a high-rise tower block on to a London Underground station.

The Exercise Unified Response was held at the disused Littlebrook Power Station in Dartford and was co-ordinated by the London Fire Brigade to prepare emergency crews and other key agencies for a large-scale operation involving mass casualties.

It took place earlier this month, but volunteers have now spoken for the first time of their roles.

About 150 students from the college acted as the wounded, complete with realistic-looking trauma injuries, for the emergency services to treat.

Joel Collett, who is studying at the college’s Dartford campus, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, as it taught me what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a major incident as a civilian in cramped, dark conditions.

“I also got to experience how the public services react to such an incident, teaching me vital skills. I now have a better understanding of what a victim of a major incident goes through.”

There were more than 4,000 people involved in the exercise, including victim identification teams from all UK police regions and forensic specialists. Firefighters from Italy, Hungary and Cyprus also took part.

Cloe Cook, who is studying public services at the college site in Gravesend, said: “It was brilliant. I was made up to look like the bone was sticking out of my leg. The make-up artists did a great job. I was stuck in a collapsed tunnel for six hours until I was rescued.

“We were able to see the paramedics and firefighters up close and saw how difficult it is for them when something like this happens. Even though it was an exercise, they were under a lot of pressure.”

Staff at Darent Valley Hospital also volunteered themselves, and family members, to act as casualties, giving them an insight into the complexity and the devastation that such an incident would create and be faced by their colleagues in the emergency services.

Organisers also enlisted the help of amputee and disabled volunteers.

Exercise Unified Response was more than a year in the planning and organisers said it provided a realistic training environment for specialist urban search and rescue teams from all over the country.

The huge scale of the incident also gave police and ambulance specialist teams, as well as local authorities, the chance to practise skills and functions that are rarely used.

Nikki Franks, public services curriculum manager at North Kent College, said: “This was an excellent opportunity for all of our learners to engage in real-life training for the emergency response services.

“It was a chance to see the work of the London Fire Brigade in a realistic disaster. The exercise showed us the difficulties of their job, which we do not realise if we are stuck in a situation when fear, claustrophobia and emotions kick in, and how the firefighters push through to rescue you.”

The exercise was observed by independent evaluators and feedback will be used to improve response to future emergency incidents.