Mock terror attack staged in Birmingham

Armed officers in full tactical gear swarmed the Bullring and Grand Central centres as part of a training exercise.

Police have also began stopping and searching cars over fears of another Berlin style terror attack at the city's Christmas market.

Last night's operation involved the West Midlands Police, Fire Service, and Ambulance Service.

A police spokesman said the 'live play training exercise' was pre-planned, 'to test the response of all emergency partners to a major incident, and was not in response to any specific threat or intelligence'.

Hammerson, who run the Bullring and Grand Central, approached the emergency services with the offer to help them test out their security plans.

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."

Graham Williams, Hammerson's portfolio security manager, 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."