Sirens to sound on mobiles in alert test

MILLIONS will hear a siren-like alarm on their phones next month when an emergency warning system to alert people to life-threatening events is tested.

The trial takes place on April 23, and phone users will be unable to use their devices unless they acknowledge the alert.

The scheme will initially focus on severe weather incidents and will inform 90 per cent of mobile users within the relevant area of the impending emergency.

It could eventually be expanded to cover terrorist incidents, but officials acknowledged that much more information about how the alerts system operates would be needed before that could happen.

People who do not wish to receive the alerts will be able to opt out in their device settings, but officials hope the life-saving potential of the messages means users will keep them on.

Tests of the service have already taken place in East Suffolk and Reading.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Dowden said: ‘It will revolutionise our ability to warn and inform people who are in immediate danger.’