AN AWARD-WINNING counter terrorism training course is being made available to the public for the first time and Thames Valley Police are asking for people to sign up.

Devised by counter terrorism officers and security experts, the ACT Awareness e-Learning package was previously only available to staff working in crowded places like shopping centres and entertainment venues.

Now though, Counter Terrorism Policing has decided to open up the training to anyone so they can learn how to spot the signs of suspicious behaviour and understand what to do in the event of a major incident.

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The programme was originally devised in partnership with retail giant Marks & Spencer.

The online learning is now available free of charge to anyone who wants to take part.

“ACT Awareness e-Learning is especially useful for anyone working in or regularly visiting crowded places,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Richard List.

“We developed each stage alongside industry experts and to date over one and a half million modules have been completed.

“The course has been so popular, with nine out of ten users saying they would recommend it.

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“The threat level remains at substantial – meaning an attack is likely - so giving everyone the chance to be extra eyes and ears for police and local security teams help to keep all communities across the Thames Valley safe.

“The festive period is obviously a very busy one, so this is a good time to join up.”

ACT Awareness is made up of seven modules that take a few minutes each to complete. You can pause and re-join at any time and in total it takes 45 minutes to complete.

The course is hosted by online training specialists Highfield.