It's the kind of situation we all hope we'll never find
ourselves in - trapped inside a car after an accident with possible
serious injuries and sirens blaring.

Reporter Hayley Robinson was invited by Sittingbourne
firefighters to take part in a training exercise to see exactly
what happens when they have to deal with such a
scenario.

Sorry, this video asset has been removed.

Video: Reporter Hayley
Robinson being cut out of a vehicle

Terrified - that's the only way I can describe how I felt as I
sat in the passenger seat of a Renault Megane.

I had to remind myself this wasn’t a real situation and
thankfully I wasn’t an injured person awaiting rescue.

Sittingbourne firefighters were going to cut me free from the
car and although Mark Innes, green watch manager, had told me what
was going to happen I still didn’t know what to expect.

For my own protection I was dressed in a firefighting suit,
boots, gloves, a dust mask, a fire helmet and goggles - a luxury a
real casualty wouldn’t have.

A plastic cover was then placed over the steering wheel to stop
the air bag going off. Mr Innes clambered into the driver’s
seat explaining that in a real situation a firefighter would be in
the vehicle not only to comfort the casualty but to support their
head if there was a suspected back or spinal injury.

He continued to explain every step of the process - as he would
in a real life incident.

First the car was stabilised using blocks underneath the wheel
arch, then a plastic sheet was placed over both of us. A
tear-shaped board was placed behind the back passenger window,
there was a quick shout of “glass” followed by a bang
and the sound of glass shattering.

This was repeated on all the door windows and the rear window
before the crew moved on to the windscreen where tape had been
stuck on in a V-shape.

The plastic sheet was removed allowing me to see exactly what
was going on in front of me. A hole was made in the centre of
the windscreen at the bottom then a saw was used to cut along the
tape.

Next the inside of the frame was checked for safety before a
hydraulic cutter was used to make cuts in the framework. The roof
was then taken off the vehicle.

It was a relief that we were nearing the end of the 'rescue'. I
could only imagine what it must be like for someone in a real life
incident to go through this process, not knowing what their
injuries were.

The crew decided that in this scenario they were unable to open
the door so a 'spreader' was used to open and remove the door.

As I had a 'suspected spinal injury' a spinal board was also
placed behind me, my seat was laid back and I was carefully
maneuvered up the board which now was in a diagonal
position. They then lifted the board to a horizontal position
and lifted me out of the car.

This was just a training exercise but the goal is still the same
in a real crash - to carry out the procedure as safely as possible
and get the casualty out alive.