GIRL Guides from Radcliffe were faced with the daunting task of treating a group of workmen seriously injured in a building site accident.

They had to answer the call of duty as part of a mock emergency staged by Greater Manchester's ambulance, fire and police services.

But the seven-strong team of 11 and 12-year-olds from the 14th Radcliffe St Thomas's Guides tackled the carnage scene with relish.

The "999 Challenge Day" was held on Saturday (June 2) at Ladybridge Hall in Bolton. which is Greater Manchester Ambulance Service's training centre, to see how the youngsters could cope in a crisis.

The girls found themselves in the middle of a carefully created life-threatening drama where workmen had been injured when an offender climbed onto the roof of a derelict building and attempted to steal lead slates. As the building collapsed, one man was electrocuted, another suffered a heart attack after running to find help, a third man broke his leg when a sink dropped on him, and the fourth victim was impaled by a sharp piece of wood.

The Guides were monitored by 999 experts to see how they reacted to the accident before alerting the emergency services and they were also showered in fake bricks to make them aware of the dangerous state of the building site.

Guide leader Pam Simpson said: "They seem to have enjoyed all the separate challenges and learned quite a lot.''

Assistant divisional officer from the fire service David Rainford said: "In the circumstances the kids have done quite well because they are only very young.

"It's the first time we've held such an event here, but we will do it again.

"We normally set-up road traffic accidents, but this is the sort of real life scenario youngsters might find themselves in."

The actors taking part in the mock accident were members of the Altrincham-based Casualties Union. They work with all sorts of emergency services and rescue groups such as the Red Cross and St John Ambulance.

They are fully qualified first aiders and work in any scenario, from being stuck on a mountain to pretending to be run over by a bus.