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A new Twitter Alerts system to highlight critical information in emergency situations has been rolled out across the UK and Ireland.

Police forces, London Fire Brigade, the Foreign Office and the Environment Agency are just some of the 57 services to sign up to the new system.

These organisations will now be able to mark certain tweets as alerts, by putting an orange bell next to them to stand out to followers.

It is designed to deliver information quickly and effectively in times of natural disasters or other emergencies.

Users who sign up for an account's Twitter Alerts will also receive notifications via text, and smartphone users will get push notifications.

Commander David Martin, in charge of emergency planning for the Metropolitan Police Service, said: “Getting fast and accurate information to the public in a major incident or terrorist attack really could make a life-saving difference.

“Using social networking sites, including Twitter, gives us additional ways to talk directly to the public. Twitter Alerts means that our messages will stand out when it most matters.”

To subscribe, Twitter users should go to their chosen account’s alert setup page at twitter.com/[username]/alerts.

Twitter Alerts launched with other participating organisations in the US, Japan and Korea.

These have already been used by international organisations to send out information during emergencies involving public safety, accessibility and bad weather.

John Curtin, Head of Incident Management at the Environment Agency said: “Digital communications is enhancing the way we share warning information during an incident. During an incident such as flooding, we see significant spikes in related conversation."

And Rita Dexter, Deputy Commissioner for the London Fire Brigade, said: “People act on information shared on social media. During a major incident accurate, verified and frequent updates are essential."

*To receive Twitter Alerts as push notifications, you must be using Twitter for iPhone version 5.10 or higher, and Twitter for Android 4.1.6 or higher.