A TEAM of firefighters narrowly missed out on winning a competition to find the best crew in the world at rescuing people from crashes.

A crew from Heywood fire station, which included Mick Cant, Ian Holt, and Tom Hague from Bury, represented Great Britain's fire service against 21 other teams from around the world who took part in the International Extrication Competition in Plymouth.

Each team was judged on how it dealt with three realistic road traffic accident scenarios and assessed on command and control of the incident, medical intervention and rescue techniques.

The crew finished runners-up overall, while station officer Hague clinched second place in the individual medical intervention category and colleague Dave Smithies, from Rossendale, came second in the command and control section.

Area Commander Rhys Griffiths was among the first to congratulate the team. He said: "This is just reward for the team's hard work and dedication. They have regularly given up their own time to take part in training sessions and I am pleased that their enthusiasm has paid off."

This is not the first time the team has been recognised for its professionalism. Since it was formed in 1998, it has won both national and international events.

The crew will now take part in the next national competition in Reading at the end of July. The top teams from the event will qualify for the next international competition to be held in New Zealand.