EMERGENCY services took part in a live-play training exercise at intu Merry Hill yesterday (Sunday) to see how they would respond to a major incident.
The exercise was designed to enhance the skills of emergency responders and was not in relation to any specific threat.
Details of the exercise were not shared in advance to allow teams to respond spontaneously, as they would in a real incident.
The area was tightly controlled and there was no impact on the public.
Police and security staff were on patrol during the night to reassure any residents who may have been affected by increased activity, noise and presence of the emergency services.
The exercise highlights the strong working relationships between West Midlands Police, West Midlands Fire Service, West Midlands Ambulance Service and other partners.
Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale said: "Routine exercises like this are important as they enable us to test our ability to deal with large scale incidents. I would like to thank intu Merry Hill and the local community for their support.
"The exercise was not based on any threat or intelligence and although it is unlikely that an incident like this would occur, recent national and international events have once again highlighted the importance of public organisations testing their emergency response procedures to assure the safety of the communities we serve."
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