Suffolk and Norfolk officers take part in large public disorder training day at RAF Barnham in Thetford

A police training day on public disorder and protests has been hailed a success with more than 200 officers taking part.

Police officers from seven forces, including from Suffolk and Norfolk, were involved in the large training exercise held at RAF Barnham, near Thetford, on Tuesday.

The day was designed to test officers’ capabilities in handling difficult public order scenarios and a total of 240 volunteers — including local business staff, military personnel, college students and charity members — were guided to simulate the controlled disorder scenarios.

Superintendent Matt Bodmer highlighted the importance of the training as many officers from the East of England were deployed to assist during the Southport riots last year.

He said: “These events are testing not only the command but also our officers on the ground carrying out our positive duty to make sure our responses are proportionate.

“It is key for me that we are able to practice our tactics and that ranges from good communication, working with other forces and using the right equipment to manage public disorder.

“The event worked really well and I know all the forces involved would have learned a lot from the day.

“We want to give a massive thanks to all the volunteers who came and gave up their time to support us — that is really key to make the scenarios as realistic as possible for the officers.

“While we’re quite lucky in Norfolk and Suffolk that we don’t face these situations very often, our officers are often called to support larger forces, so it’s crucial we prepare them for these types of scenarios.”