Hatherleigh Fire Service put the town's new Care Village development to good use last week as they staged a search and rescue training exercise on the building site.

The pioneering Care Village development consists of a 50 bed hotel style nursing home together with 15 independent living close care apartments. The home is now open and already nearly full with residents. The apartments are due for completion in the summer and have attracted significant interest from those looking to retain an independent life, but still be in close proximity to the support and services the Care Village has to offer.

Station Officer, Owen Ravenscroft said: "We are grateful to the operators of the new Care Village, PSP Healthcare and to the builders D R Jones for kindly letting us use this opportunity to practice our skills."

The Hatherleigh Fire Service comprises of ten retained fire fighters from the local community. They train every week at the station but have limited opportunities to practice on real sites, so the new Care Village building site provided the perfect venue.

During the exercise several casualties (dummies) were placed within the building and fire fighters had to contend with a number of obstacles and challenges in searching for and retrieving them safely out of the building.

Nick Hewitt Senior Project Manager from D R Jones said: "The Care Village has proved to be a popular facility for Hatherleigh and the surrounding area. It comprises of all the latest technology and design features for the elderly such as a nurse call system that rings without any bells."

He went on to say: "We have had tremendous support from the town and so we were pleased to help out when the Fire Service asked if they could train on our site."