Riot police scrambled to tackle rowdy protestors in Northamptonshire village - but it's all part of a training exercise

Riot police scrambled to tackle groups of rowdy protestors including University of Northampton students.

Residents in Earls Barton were warned to steer clear of the area as the two sides “clashed” in an industrial estate on the outskirts of the village. But it was all less dramatic than it sounded as Northamptonshire Police called in volunteers from the university and Northampton College to pose as demonstrators for a public order training exercise in a disused warehouse on Wednesday (November 2).

The force’s lead instructor for operations training James Harris explained: “Exercises like this are necessary to test the capabilities of our public order resources to ensure we minimise the risk to the public, while maximising the safety of our officers. The volunteers added a much-needed level of realism and ensured the officers involved could experience different crowd psychology and dynamics in a safe environment."