PICTURES: Firefighters get muddy as part of rescue training

The team were at Tipner Lake on the outskirts of Portsmouth to learn how to use specialist equipment on the mud flats.

It includes mud lances, which can free people stuck in mud by injecting compressed air around them, creating an air pocket which makes it easier to release the suction.

The pictures, released today on Twitter by the fire station, show the firefighters using mats to carefully make their way across the flats.

The station tweeted: ‘Mud rescue training on the mud flats Tipnor lake, warm water decontamination and familiarisation with mud lance & water rescue kit #ops’