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Eleven youngsters from Haverhill are the first young firefighter cadets to be trained in Suffolk,after taking part in the first passing out parade of it's kind in the county.

Suffolk's Chief Fire Officer Malcolm Alcock carried out an inspection and presented awards at Haverhill Fire Station on Sunday evening.

The pilot scheme at Haverhill involved a six-month course and was so successful that a second year long course is already fully booked.

The cadets, aged between 13 and 17, have all completed the six-month course during which they learnt vital fire safety skills such as the use of ladders, pumps and hoses as well as extinguishers. During the ceremony, they performed four different drills, including the putting out of a small fire and a rescue.


The youth fire cadet scheme was the first such initiative in Suffolk and due to its huge success, another programme is planned for September, which will run for a year.

Leading Firefighter Tina Henderson, who helped set up the Haverhill scheme, said it had proved very popular with youngsters, especially those who might be considering a career in the fire service, "It has been very, very successful, so much so that we have been given the OK to run a year-long course. That one is already full and we are going to be looking for sponsors to run more, We are really pleased that it has gone so well."