Dramatic moment armed cops storm Birmingham Bullring shopping centre in Christmas anti-terror training drill
Emergency crews were taking part in role-play exercise to prepare for a Berlin-style Christmas terror attack
ARMED police stormed Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre in a dramatic training drill to prepare for a Berlin-style Christmas terror attack.
Shoppers dived for cover and "victims" lay strewn across the floor as cops with automatic rifles and bullet-proof shields took up positions on the escalators.
In other images from the exercise, a man held his hands above his head as the dozens of armed response officers moved through the mall.
Meanwhile ambulance crews in full protective gear tended to "patients" lying on the ground outside a Costa Coffee.
And regular uniformed cops could be seen helping after what appeared to be a ram attack with a red van in the street outside.
The live role-play drill simulating a terror attack began last night and continued into the early hours of today.
West Midlands Police stressed the exercise was planned some time ago and is not in response to intelligence of any threat.
But officers have also began stopping and searching cars recently over fears of a terror attack at the city's Christmas market.
Twelve people were killed and 56 hurt in a jihadi lorry rampage at a market in the German capital last December.
Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Cann said: "This is the latest in a series of exercises that we have carried out to test our ability to deal with large scale incidents.
"Recent national and international events highlight the importance of public organisations testing their emergency response procedures to reassure the safety of the communities we serve.
"The UK threat level remains at severe which means that an attack is highly likely.
"Although there is no specific threat to our region it is imperative that we are ready to deal with such an attack if required.
"I would like to thank everyone who took part in the exercise, particularly the Bullring and Grand Central."
Police were approached by investment company Hammerson, which manages both the Bullring and the nearby Grand Central mall, to help them test their security plans.
The firm's security manager Graham Williams said: "As the owner and manager of a number of leading retail destinations, we have robust security procedures in place, which are constantly reviewed.
"We already have a close working relationship with West Midlands Police and we welcome the opportunity to work together on major training exercises such as this, to test and measure our responses to major incidents alongside other emergency service partners."
Last month, blood-soaked victims of an ISIS atrocity were pictured during a terrifyingly realistic police training drill outside a bank HQ in Edinburgh.
And in March, 200 specialist officers surrounded a "hijacked" cruise boat in an exercise on the Thames in London.
Another drill saw armed cops swoop on a Nando's, a Subway and a Burger King in Dudley, West Mids.
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