WHILST struggling to come to terms with the carnage caused by the recent Madrid bombings we are a nation forced to face up to the inevitability that London will be the target of a terrorist attack.

With the aftermath of the Bali bombs and September 11 slowly fading from memory this latest atrocity has sent a fresh shock wave to jolt us out of our complacency.

Any attack on London will clearly have serious ramifications for the borough and its residents, so just how prepared are the various authorities who would have to cope with such a situation?

The police have a vital part to play and Superintendent Chris Channer, operating manager for Richmond police, insists that it is the vigilance of the public that would prevent a crisis from happening.

He says: "In the event of any incident the police would isolate and contain the immediate area and co-operate with the emergency services to respond.

"We have the advantage as we can put officers on the ground very fast. We have a mobilisation plan to put more officers in place if it is that type of incident. Once we secure and isolate the area our role would be to facilitate the fire and emergency services.

"The area must be made safe since there could be a secondary device for the emergency services.

"We have the larger infrastructure but we work in conjunction with the fire, emergency services and the local authority. It would be very similar for all emergency planning but for terrorism we would bring in special people. We have major incident exercises all the time for contingency plans. We must make sure people are out of the area and co-operate fully.

"At these scenes, everyone chips in but people need to dial 999 if they see anything suspicious, like bags on the train, it is the public's vigilance that would stop a terrorist attack.

"There are only so many police officers but we have very fast response time because we have people out there all the time."

So, the police would deal with the immediate issues in the wake of an attack but what kind of contingency plans are in place for Richmond upon Thames Council to concentrate on the ongoing effects?

The emergency planning officer for the council, Helen Molyneux, who has held the position for one year, works alone but in liaison with the local police, fire brigade and primary care trust.

Talking about how the council are equipped to deal with emergencies she explains: "If we were affected directly by a terrorist attack we would ask for support and this is called a Mutual Aid Agreement. This is signed legal documents which gives us the ability to request support from other boroughs and vice versa if we could not cope ourselves. This would be for staff or equipment resources.

"There is nothing specific in place for a terrorist attack. It is generic for any major emergency, we would ask for the same sort of support for example temporary education, that sort of thing. We are in the process of redoing our plan and the final touches are being suggested at the moment. We have training and planned exercises where there are a series of workshops. All London boroughs have a similar procedure."

The main priority of the local authority in the event of an emergency is to offer a continuing service. For example, if a residential home loses power, the planning officer must ensure this service is provided or if people lose their home in a flood temporary accommodation will be found.

Helen, who looks after all the planning and training for how the borough would respond to a major incident, continues: "It is very difficult to combat terrorism but we are not on higher alert since Madrid. We are encouraging the public to be more vigilant. We have very good links with the local boroughs. Emergency planning is more about liaison than anything else and the organisations you work with such as the police, fire, primary care trusts. This is what we call integrated emergency planning."

The London Fire Brigade are briefed on emergencies and have many years of experience and expertise in dealing with major incidents in the city.

A spokesman describes their role: "We already have considerable experience in dealing with the aftermath of terrorist attacks and whilst future incidents may be bigger or more complex our experience will be invaluable.

"There are established links and lines of co-operation and communication between all of London's emergency services and we constantly review our arrangements to refine, strengthen and improve our systems, equipment and procedures on a regular basis to deal with any increased threat."

And, crucially, the primary care trusts offer support. "The PCT work in co-ordination with local NHS organisations," Houda Alsharifi, director of public health for Richmond and Twickenham PCT, clarifies. "We are not an emergency service so we are not on the scene if there is a major incident. Our role is to continue to provide PCT services to patients and people in these circumstances and help the hospitals to create capacity if they need beds for seriously ill people. So we are supporting within the community. This requires a lot of liaison with the emergency services in the borough."

Despite this reassurance of training and exercises, there has been talk in the national press that Britain is ill equipped to deal with a terrorist attack.

However the population are urged to be vigilant yet not paranoid whilst the emergency services and the council continue to liaise with each other to counter any threat of attack and work to the best of their abilities to deal with any possible outcome.