Broadcasters plunged into chaos as emergency mobile phone alert sent to millions of people in England and Wales
It warns people not to undertake "any activity that could start a fire"
Broadcasters were thrown into disarray after a government emergency alert warning of the growing wildfire risk was issued to millions of mobile phones.
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The alert interrupted the One Show leaving presenters Roman Kemp and Alex Jones confused as they attempted to push through and continue speaking with the siren blaring in the background.
As Kemp ploughed on with the segment, Jones shook her head and raised her hands, before she said: “You couldn’t make that up could you. Is that a fire alarm?”
“We continue,” they both said, before running through the rest of the piece before the alarm cut out and Kemp said: “Ok, it’s stopped”.
The siren also drowned out a BBC News segment about Luigi Mangione's guilty plea in court to the killing a health insurance executive.
It also went off on a Sky News' presenters mobile phone during a segment about Mangione, just before panning to the scene outside the courtroom.
The siren was also audible in the background for several seconds during BBC 3's radio coverage of the Proms.
The alert was sent out at 7pm and warned against lighting anything that could spark a wildfire, including barbecues, campfires, and fireworks.
It flashed up on millions of phones and was accompanied by a loud siren noise which lasted for several seconds.
The message states: "There is a very high risk of wildfires nationally. Residents, landowners and visitors should not undertake any activity that could start a fire, including disposable barbecues, fire pits, garden incinerators or fireworks. Even a small flame can rapidly develop into a major wildfire placing lives, homes, businesses and emergency responders at risk."
It comes after the Prime Minister announced he would be calling in the military as he scrambled to respond to several wildfires ripping through the UK.
Andy Burnham also revealed he planned to commission firefighting planes, as used to douse flames in Europe and the US, to combat the spread of wildfires.
He said the country has to “face up” to the “changing climate” and needs to transition to “more clean energy”.
The UK is in the middle of its fifth heatwave of the summer, smashing the June record after temperatures of above 38C were recorded in south west London on Thursday.
It comes after nineteen houses were destroyed and 18 damaged after a wildfire ripped through an area of Stourbridge.
Meanwhile in Staffordshire, a fire destroyed four homes in the Goldenhill area of Stoke-on-Trent. A 23-year-old man and 24-year-old woman, both from the city, have been arrested on suspicion of arson after the incident.
More wildfires have now struck England and Wales in 2026 so far than in the whole of 2025, with the latest spate of blazes in the West Midlands having led to people fleeing their homes to get out of the path of encroaching fires.
Across the region, a total of 54 people have been treated by paramedics, including 19 who were admitted to hospital, following the fire outbreaks, West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said.
Amid the wildfires raging across the country, the Government appointed Baroness Blake of Leeds as fire minister, serving in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Mr Burnham told broadcasters: “I’ve never seen scenes like this in Britain, where you just see a whole house gutted, smouldering.
”The Prime Minister said 100 military personnel had been deployed to a blaze in South Wales to offer “critically needed” support.
He said “Britain is a tinderbox right now” with “37 fires smouldering around the country”.