Dry run for nuclear terror medics

The scenario was that a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) device had exploded in the Meadowhall shopping centre and crowds of people with radiation burns needed to be treated.

Volunteers were showered in "decontamination" tents at Barnsley Hospital before being allowed in the hospital's emergency department.

Mike Lees, head of emergency planning at Barnsley Hospital, said: "Exercises like this are all about gaining experience for the future, for the time when we have to deal with real, large-scale emergencies."