The Jaws of Life and The Hooligan Bar: How fire crews rescue people from a car crash

The idea of being trapped in a car and having to be cut out by fire crews is a frightening thought.

But a video released by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service shows exactly how adept they are at rescuing people trapped inside cars following a crash.

The service posted the video on Twitter, after members of the crew visited Minsthorpe Community College to explain how they operate.

There are a number of unusual contraptions they use to help get into the car, with names such as The Jaws of Life, The Spreader, the Ram and The Hooligan Bar.

The Jaws of Life are a hydraulic cutting tool which allows them to get into the car easily, while The Spreader is the tool which is shown on the video.

The video shows one of the firefighters use 'The Spreader' to jam open the boot. Once the tool has purchase inside the car, they are the opened to create a hole in the bodywork.

It causes a lot of damage to the car, but can save the life of someone trapped inside.

A voice can be heard in the background explaining how fire crews refer to each side of the car as a 'post', to help them navigate their way around the car and get better access to the people who are trapped inside.