It is not every day you discover that you have repeatedly driven past a hidden stretch of motorway while on your travels.

The M96, 20 miles from the M5 and the M50, has remained a well-hidden secret for years... yet it helps save countless lives.

The 400-metre-long stretch of road in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, has seen more crashes and traffic incidents than major routes because of its special purpose of training blue-light crews.

The so-called mock motorway is banned from public use to allow emergency services to practise dealing with major motorway incidents.

It is at the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh and is used by 999 services across England.

Services such as West Mercia Police, Hereford and Worcester Fire Service, West Midlands Ambulance Service, West Midlands Police and West Midlands Fire Service have all used the M96 for their training.

Crashes are simulated to help prepare emergency services for the worst-case scenario.

Some simulations involve multi-vehicle pile-ups with lorries, cars and buses, and volunteers play the part of motorists and pedestrians caught up in the fake crashes.