Emergency services in Lichfield and Burntwood have signed up to a nationwide alerts service.

The Twitter-run initiative operates around the world and allows key messages to get out quickly.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service are the latest to sign up to join the Twitter Alerts system, which currently sends out messages from 96 different services.

A spokesperson for the social media company said: “In times of crisis, it is important for emergency services to be able to deliver critical information to the public as quickly as possible.

“And as the UK faces severe, repeated weather and flood warnings, we’ve been working with those services to ensure that Twitter is as useful as possible to those on the front line.

“Twitter users can sign up to receive alerts. When that account tweets with an emergency message, users receive an SMS or push notification directly to their phone.

“Twitter Alerts are also designed to capture users’ attention, with the orange bell standing out from other tweets on followers’ timelines.”

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.