Don’t worry, there hasn’t been a Tube accident – but the emergency services are well prepared after taking part in Europe’s biggest disaster drill.

Students from Barking and Dagenham College were among thousands of people drafted in to play injured passengers for the four-day operation which simulated a tower block collapsing into Waterloo station.

The scenario, organised by London Fire Brigade, saw volunteers play casualties amid upturned Tube trains and thousands of tonnes of rubble at a disused power station in Dartford this week.

Tim Bamforth-White, a tutor on the college course, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our public services students to witness first-hand how the emergency services respond to a major incident.

“They were able to get a sense of the scale of such an emergency and the planning, organisation and levels of communication and teamwork necessary to manage an incident of this magnitude.

“I am very grateful to the organisers for providing the opportunity, which the students really benefited from.”