A series of fictitious incidents has been used to test emergency planning preparedness of the NHS and other agencies.

The event was hosted by the Harrogate and Craven Primary Care Trust, which has responsibility as the lead health agency for emergency planning in North Yorkshire.

More than 50 people took part in the desktop exercise, working through issues surrounding a series of complex scenarios.

They included a bomb explosion at a conference in Harrogate, an aircraft flying over the Yorkshire Dales with an engine on fire, and a horrific road smash involving chemicals and children.

Director of strategic development Judi Goddard said: "Emergency planning is notoriously difficult to stage in a way which seems real.

"So we decided to get together in a room and develop a set of quite extreme circumstances based on specific geographical locations.

"These were designed in a way which needed all the participants to work together and understand each other's perspectives.

"Feedback suggested everyone learnt a lot about the priorities of responding to such an emergency and clarifying what other agencies do."

She said: "We all hope we never have to deal with real circumstances of this nature, but we want the public to be aware that we are taking these steps to ensure the relevant agencies are as prepared as possible for any eventuality."