Troops rappelling from helicopter onto County Hall in Preston was pre-planned exercise

Troops descending from a helicopter onto County Hall were taking part in a pre-planned training exercise, the council have confirmed.

Residents close to County Hall on Fishergate, which is the headquarters for Lancashire County Council, contacted Blog Preston expressing concern after seeing a helicopter deliver what appeared to be armed personnel to the building.

They would drop into the building from the helicopter by rope with residents saying they heard a number of bangs afterwards.

No word had come in advance from Lancashire County Council that an exercise would be taking place at County Hall.

When contacted this morning by Blog Preston, the council confirmed that this was a ‘preplanned exercise’ and ‘not in response to any particular threat’.

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said: “We can confirm that a training exercise took place on 18 November at our venue.

“This was a preplanned exercise in conjunction with the exercise organisers. This is not in response to any particular threat but we are keen to support responders to ensure that they are as prepared as possible to deal with any incident.

“This also allows us to take a pro-active and engaging approach with our own preparedness which the public and users of our facilities would expect.”

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