Britain on Sunday staged the largest ever simulation of terror attack in central England to test the readiness of its emergency services.

More than 2,000 policemen, firefighters and ambulance personnel were involved in the mock chemical gas attack, which is being heldat the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham, the second largest city in England.

During the exercise, around 400 volunteers from the Army and Red Cross pretended to be victims of a nerve gas attack and underwent a decontamination procedure, which involved having their clothes cut off and entering a special disinfecting shower, with the more seriously injured taken to hospital.

A West Midlands police spokesman said the exercise was as realistic as possible.

The exercise comes a week after the British government announced a sharp increase in spending on anti-terrorism measures.