A HOT air balloon caught fire and crashed into a quarry in Kingsteignton over the weekend.

Multiple victims suffered ‘a range of injuries’ in the drama, which unfolded on Sunday afternoon.

Emergency services including police, firefighters, paramedics, mountain rescue and hazardous area response teams responded to the ordeal within minutes.

But the major incident was just part of a multi-agency exercise to train emergency services in responding to search and rescue scenarios.

Actors were drafted in from the Casualties Union to play the victims, who sustained injuries including burns and broken bones.

Chief Superintendent Glen Mayhew, alliance operations commander, said: ‘What the team designed was a replication of a potential scenario that emergency services could be called to.

‘We needed it to be as realistic as possible to allow the people taking part to really immerse themselves in the training.’

He added: ‘This is a complex work environment, there is a lot going on, a lot to think about.

‘Training for search and rescue incidents is absolutely vital and exercises like this are a great opportunity to look at how each of the agencies work and how we can work best together.’