Public Invited to Emergency Service Open Day at Coleshill

The Emergency Services in Coleshill, together with the town's Leisure Services are opening their doors to the public this Saturday (24 September) at the Coleshill Open Day.

Members of the public are being invited to see what goes on behind the scenes at the local police, fire and ambulance stations, in a family orientated fun day and Open Day which also includes the Coleshill Leisure Centre.

Doors open to the public at the Birmingham Road site at 12 noon and remain open until 4pm.

During the afternoon people will be able to see a range of demonstrations including a mock road traffic collision which will show people being cut out of the wreckage of a crashed car. Elsewhere people will be being arrested and visitors can follow the process of them being booked in and questioned about an offence.

Crime prevention messages and fire safety information together with emergency first aid information will also be available, with the experts on hand to answer your questions.

Fire engines, ambulances and police vehicles will also be on show for visitors to have a close up look and to see how they work.

Among other attractions planned for Saturday is the work of the Forensic Science Department, who, as well as demonstrating some of their investigative techniques, will be creating unique keyrings each containing the owners fingerprint.

The emphasis of the afternoon is very much on fun with a host of competitions being organised including time trials in a replica police pedal car and guess the number of balloons in the car to win a prize.

There will also be a chance to throw a wet sponge at members of the emergency services who have gallantly volunteered to go in the stocks during the afternoon.

Proceeds from the Open Day will go to the TAKE A BREAK charity which raises money to give respite care for terminally ill children in the Coleshill area, together with donations also going to the Fire and Police Benevolent funds.

Speaking about the afternoon Chief Inspector Chris Lewis. District Commander for North Warwickshire said, "This is a really good opportunity for people to come and see behind the scenes of the emergency services. Many people only ever see the emergency services as a blue light going along the road. The Open Day lets everyone have a good look round and ask questions about how the police and other emergency agencies actually work. But we want people to have fun too and we have arranged a whole range of things for all the family to get involved with to make this an afternoon to remember."