Text terror alert for phone users

Mobile phone users in Oxfordshire are being urged to sign up to a text alert system so they can receive warnings and updates in an emergency.

The system, known as the City Alert Text System (Cats), has been set up by county council emergency planners.

They want as many people as possible to sign up to the service following the London bomb attacks on 7 July.

Subscribers would get warnings, advice and updates in an emergency, ranging from flooding to a terror alert.

The council is offering the service free for one year to the first 500 subscribers, instead of the £1.50 annual fee.

Oxfordshire County Council emergency planning officer John Kelly said: "I would urge people to sign up to the CATS system.

"[It] will give them direct access to emergency information during a major incident, especially if an incident is likely to affect them personally."

To sign up, people should e-mail [e-mail] and give their name, address, postcode and mobile telephone number.