Residents' 'shock' and 'worry' at receiving emergency alert text twice - nine days apart

Residents have described their 'shock' after receiving the government's UK emergency alert text twice, nine days apart.

Richard Evendon from Tunbridge Wells received the text message at 2:59pm on Sunday 23 April, like many people, one minute earlier than he was expecting.

But he's told ITV Meridian, he worryingly received the alert for a second time just after 2pm on Tuesday 2 May.

Mr Evendon said: "I was just lying on the bed, and my phone went off the same way it went off before.

"It made the same sound, but the message was different and said 'this is a mobile network operator test of the UK.'

"Last time it didn't say operator. It came up the same way though and asked me to press ok to get rid of the message on my screen.

"It's quite worrying to receive the message twice, as I was expecting it the first time but not again today.

"What if you were driving and it went off, it could cause you to panic."

But Mr Evendon, who has a Samsung Galaxy phone, isn't alone in receiving the alert for a second time, according to Twitter.

Duncan from Poole in Dorset received the original alert last month on two mobile phones, one on Tesco mobile and the other on Vodafone.

On Tuesday, he received the alert again on his Tesco network phone.

It's thought the second alert could have been confused with plans for a second one on Tuesday 25 April.

A post on the government website caused widespread confusion after it appeared to notify people of a second emergency alert test taking place.

Instead, it appears people received the second notification today. (2 May)

The original test which was issued on 23 April was a trial, but in the future, the UK's alert system will be used to warn people about severe weather situations - including floods and wildfires in their local area.

The government said the system could later be used for other forms of emergencies such as terror attacks, nuclear threats and dangerous criminals on the loose.

It's not yet known why the alert sounded again on Tuesday.

ITV News Meridian has contacted the Cabinet Office for a response.

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