A MAJOR emergency services exercise is being carried out on Teesside on Tuesday.

Members of the public in the Billingham area are advised not to be alarmed by events between 10am and 4pm.

Exercise Jaguar is designed to test the response to an emergency at an industrial site.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Fire Brigade said: "As a result of the exercise there will be a number of emergency services vehicles and staff within the Billingham industrial area.

"Agencies involved include Industrial Operators, Cleveland Police, Cleveland Fire Brigade, North East Ambulance Service, Stockton Borough Council, NHS England, Local Hospitals, Public Health England, the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive.

"The Control of Major Accident Hazard (COMAH) Regulations 2015 require the testing of both the site operators “internal” and the Local Authority’s “external” emergency response plan every three years.

"In Cleveland there are currently 30 Upper Tier sites to which this requirement to test is applied and exercises are staged throughout the year.

"The COMAH regulations are overseen by the 'Competent Authority' comprising of the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency."