Britain’s elite police firearms officers are to be trained in a new state-of-the-art weapons and tactics academy based in a disused underground reservoir in Bedford.

The £20 million independent National Firearms and Tactical Training Centre (NFTTC) will feature specialist ranges and vast studios that can be decked out to create realistic hostage, siege and terrorism scenarios.

The 200,000 sq ft centre will be constructed inside the defunct Manton Lane underground reservoir which was decommissioned by Anglian Water two decades ago. More than 80 jobs will be created during the construction phase, with a further 40 once the facility opens in January 2017.

“This will put Bedfordshire at the centre of Britain’s anti-terrorism and crime-fighting efforts while creating jobs and boosting the local economy,” said former RAF officer Andrew Young, the NFTTC’s director of marketing.

Read more at Bedford Today.