WHEN Cheney School needed to fell a tree, firefighters did it in style, staging a spectacular mock car accident.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue joined forces with the county council’s tree felling team to carry out a unique training exercise while the Headington school pupils were safely out of the way at half-term.

A rotten three tonne beech tree was carefully felled to smash through the roof of a scrap Nissan Micra parked below, with rescue crews then tasked with cutting the “injured” – a pair of dummies – free from the wreckage.

Oxford city fire risk manager Peter Graham said: “This has taken three or four years to organise.

“We’ve had to have a rotten tree in the right kind of area, with the right teams available at the right time and with the weather in our favour. It has been a great opportunity.”

Using cutting gear, the fire and rescue crew were able to re-enact a realistic rescue.

Mr Graham added: “It was quite astounding.

“We usually turn up and the event has occurred, but to watch on as it happened and see it come down with a fair old thump, it was a sight to see.”