Major incident response training set to take place in Edinburgh

Members of the public are being told to expect an increased presence of emergency service and military vehicles in Edinburgh this week as major incident training is carried out.

Pre-planned exercises involving agencies such as Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will take place between Monday, October 17 and Thursday, October 20.

It will help test their response to a range of major incidents, including one scenario featuring hazardous materials.

The last time that an exercise on a similar scale was held was in October 2017.

There has not been such an exercise since that time due to the impact of the Covid pandemic.

Assistant chief constable Mark Williams, head of operational support, said it is important for exercises to be “as realistic as possible”.

However, he indicated that they will be planned “proportionately” in controlled settings, with limited disruption to those living nearby.

“This is one of many pre-planned exercises and not in response to any specific threat,” he explained.

“The public should rightly expect Police Scotland to practice and strengthen our response to a major incident alongside other organisations.

“We are part of a well-established multi-agency training programme that provides valuable training and learning.

“It’s important for exercises to be as realistic as possible, however they are always planned proportionately in controlled settings and there will be limited disruption to people living nearby.”