Drivers complained of carnage and near misses on Britain’s roads as people slammed on in shock at the loud siren. One fumed: “All you’ve done is put loads of lives at risk on the M61.”
Fuming motorists have slammed the government’s wildfire alert for causing motorway chaos – with one driver “crossing three lanes” due to the distraction. Millions of mobiles blared an emergency alert on Friday, warning of the rising risk of wildfires in the UK.
But drivers took to social media to report carnage and near misses on Britain’s roads as people slammed on in shock at the loud siren. One fumed: “Nearly crashed my car on the motorway to receive an alert not to make a fire.”
Amy Fenton raged: “These things are meant for widespread threat to life… all you’ve done sending that alert out is put loads of lives at risk on the M61 making everyone panic thinking the world’s about to end. Outrageous.”
She added: “You have to silence your phone when these alerts happen… so people driving were swerving all over. One poor old bloke had pulled over onto the hard shoulder near Chorley! Everyone slammed on their brakes. One woman went across three lanes.”
Someone else tweeted: “Loads of cars pulled onto the hard shoulder on the motorway to read their alert, very dangerous, but I suppose they wanted to check whether they were driving towards a danger.”
Writer Tim Walker said: “This is irresponsible: yes, we all know. We’re not under imminent threat of nuclear attack. Just seen a number of cars braking hard as the alarm goes off on their phones.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged people to “take the emergency alert seriously”, adding: “Our priority now is to keep everyone safe and prevent more fires from starting.”
He said the alert was sent at the request off fire and rescue services tackling dozens of wildfires across the country. He said on social media: “I was in Stourbridge today and saw first-hand the devastating impact these fires have had on people’s homes and lives.
“Our priority now is to keep everyone safe and prevent more fires from starting. During this period of extreme heat, I’m asking everyone to take extra care.
“Please do not light any fires in gardens, the countryside or other open spaces, including parks, moorland and wooded areas. Our firefighters and emergency responders are working around the clock in incredibly difficult conditions.
“We can all help them. Please take the Emergency Alert seriously and follow the guidance in place.”
The PM called in the military and also warned smokers not to risk setting light to “tinderbox” Britain in response to summer wildfires. He revealed he planned to commission firefighting planes, as used to douse flames in Europe and the US, to combat their spread.