Police handed out leaflets at railways stations on Wednesday telling people to “run, hide and tell” if they found themselves caught up in a Mumbai-style terrorist attack.

The leaflets, which show apparently terrified commuters running down stairs, hiding in a darkened corner and speaking anxiously on a phone, have been criticised by some who received them as “scaremongering”, but police said they were raising awareness after a government warning that the threat to Britain from terrorists was greater than ever.

The leaflets were handed out across the country as part of counter-terrorism awareness week, and come after the home secretary, Theresa May, revealed that 40 terrorist attacks had been foiled since 7/7 in 2005. A range of anti-terrorism measures aimed at tackling the threat from home-grown extremists and those returning from fighting with Isis is set to go before parliament.

Launching the campaign, the chief constable of British transport police (BTP), Paul Crowther, said: “More than 6 million people travel on our railways every single day. For commuters who make the same journey over and over again, it can be easy to become oblivious to their surroundings. But I would urge them to remain alert, use their instinct and have the confidence to report anything that strikes them as out of place or suspicious.”

He added that earlier this month a man was sentenced for terrorism offences after being caught in possession of information about how to make bombs.

“This was as a direct result of a rail passenger reporting suspicions to train staff. We need others to follow suit and play their part in keeping the UK’s transport systems safe from terrorists,” he said.

But transport users took to Twitter to complain about the leaflets, which some said were stoking fear. Rob Thompson wrote: “These leaflets are more likely to cause panic than any apparent terrorism”, while one user going by the name of Survival Chick tweeted: “These are a bit scaremongering are they not! Being handed out in #london today.” Another user, using the Twitter handle @citizenx99, resorted to sarcasm to comment on the leaflets, tweeting: “If you hear gunfire … leave the area if you can … or hide. Gee, thanks for that.”

May is to publish the counter-terrorism and security bill on Wednesday, which will include a range of new powers including a legal requirement by schools, prisons and councils to take steps to prevent potential terrorists being radicalised.

“We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a deadly terrorist ideology. These powers are essential to keep up with the very serious and rapidly changing threats we face,” said May on Monday.

“In an open and free society, we can never entirely eliminate the threat from terrorism. But we must do everything possible in line with our shared values to reduce the risks posed by our enemies. This bill includes a considered, targeted set of proposals that will help to keep us safe at a time of very significant danger by ensuring we have the powers we need to defend ourselves.”