Guernsey's emergency procedure changed

Guernsey's emergency planners say they have "dispensed" with the system for contacting islanders using phones.

Instead they will be using the local media to contact people in an emergency - and, if necessary, going out and knocking on doors.

Until 2010, Guernsey had used a siren system.

Catherine Veron, Emergency Planning Officer, said sending text messages to islanders in the event of a disaster had too many practical hurdles to work.

She said: "The public warning sirens were air raid sirens left over from Cold War days and obviously the risk of a Cold War attack has passed now and we are focussing on different types of risk so it wasn't appropriate to keep that kind of equipment in place.

"A siren doesn't tell you what to do... it doesn't tell you whether you need to evacuate or take shelter so it had a limited benefit."

Ms Veron said using the local media and other methods at their disposal would be used to try to get information across as soon as possible with minimal panic.