Village pub bans phones because of Government's emergency alert test on Sunday

A Somerset village pub has banned mobile phones on Sunday 23 April ahead of a planned emergency alert.

The Government will be testing a new alert system at 3pm on Sunday which would be used in the future if there was a serious incident.The Camelot, at South Cadbury near Yeovil, has asked customers to ditch their phones on Sunday.

Staff say they "don’t feel it’s necessary to have it intrude our lives" as diners tuck into Sunday roasts.

A statement from the pub reads: "The Camelot is requesting all customers to leave their mobile phones at home if they are coming to the pub.

"We have all heard the alert on various news channels and we feel very strongly that we don’t want the alarm system to spoil the enjoyment of customers coming for our legendary roast lunches.

"If customers feel strongly about bringing their phones then we kindly request you turn them off while in the pub before the alarm goes off at 3pm.

"Any customer who does have an alarm go off will be asked to pop a large donation into our charity box.

"This month our chosen charity is The Alzheimer’s Society.

"We are really sorry if this offends some customers. As we have all had the chance to hear the alarm we don’t feel it’s necessary to have it intrude our lives on a Sunday here."

When is the Government phone alert?The UK-wide Government alert will be sent at 3pm on Sunday 23 April. It will go to all mobile phones that do not opt out. It will feature a loud alarm noise, even for phones which are set to silent, and a vibration and message will appear on the home screen.

How to turn off the emergency alert

People are able to opt out of receiving Government mobile phone alerts. Simply head to your phone's settings, search for "emergency alerts", and turn off "severe alerts" and "extreme alerts".