Youngsters have been having a special lesson in how to cope when a natural disaster happens.

Members of Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service's Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team joined Lionwood Junior School pupils for class yesterday and showed the children everything from a rescue boat to special cameras used to search for people. Hooky, the search and rescue team dog, also went along to meet the year six pupils.

Teacher Hannah Pyatt said it was a great practical learning experience for the pupils at the Wolfe Road school in Norwich.

She said: 'The children are doing an 'earth around us' topic and have been learning about natural disasters. They have learned about earthquakes and volcanoes as part of the focus on the bigger picture, and the 'disaster day' was about localising the topic and showing them we have situations where the urban search and rescue team is needed.'

As part of the day the children had to imagine a natural disaster had occurred and they had just 10 minutes to pack what they needed. They were also taught how to use a stretcher and had a go at making a shelter to keep them safe.

John Linden, USAR watch manager, said: 'We talked about our role in responding to major emergencies and specialist rescues and showed the youngsters kit ranging from sound location devices to water rescue equipment. Our search dog Hooky gave a demonstration too, which went down particularly well.'