Town centre visitors may have been left confused to see firefighters cutting the roof of a car outside the town hall today.

The mock demonstration by  Bolton firefighters was to drive home the message of driving safely on Bolton's roads, where there have been a number of crashes, including some in which people have been killed.

A crew demonstrated their techniques in dealing with the aftermath of  crash in which someone is trapped.

They used specialist equipment to free  a trapped 'person'.

Oliviere Doyle, crew manager, said: “The purpose of it is to be hard hitting and to show the public what is involved.

“We also want to show the capability we have to deal with incidents as part of a campaign to reassure the public.”

Superintendent Ian Jones added: “We’re working without partners in the community which is great to see.

“There is plenty more to go on and there are loads more operations, where we’re working in the community and speaking to the public.”

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue were in town with the wrecked motor for around an hour and a half.

Mr Doyle added: “The reception was really positive from the public and plenty of people were coming up asking questions.

“If it deters just one person from speeding then that’s the idea.

“It’s also the first time we’ve worked with the police on an operation like this, even though we’re always out demonstrating at events with cars.

“Hopefully this can become an annual thing now.”

Each station gets an allocation of cars to use for training and public demonstrations.

More information can be found on Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue and Greater Manchester Police’s social media.