West Midlands Police warned members of the public not to panic as huge numbers of emergency services congregated outside Birmingham City Football Club at St Andrews on Thursday evening.

The reason for the huge response was a pre-planned training exercise.

Police, Fire and Ambulance crews were all spotted in the car park, with more than 18 ambulances seen at one stage with additional West Midlands Ambulance incident support units.

Seven fire engines were also seen along with a small number of police units and sniffer dogs.

West Midlands Police said in a statement: ‘Our officers are taking part in a training exercise at St. Andrews @ Knighthead Park in Birmingham tonight (27 Feb), alongside colleagues from across the emergency services and other partner agencies.

‘You might see police cars, ambulances, and fire engines around the area, and hear some activity from within the stadium – but we want to stress there’s no need to worry.

‘This is one of several vital training exercises ourselves and our partners carry out every year, so we can make sure we're 100% ready to respond to emergencies and keep the public safe. 

‘The exercise is not in response to any recent incident, intelligence, or threat.

‘We have made every effort to ensure people nearby aren't disrupted, and normal police services will not be affected by the exercise which is funded from existing national training budgets.

‘We'd like to thank Birmingham City Football Club and local residents for their support.’

ENDS