It was the largest-ever use of the technology since the emergency alert system was introduced in 2023, sounding on millions of mobile devices.

The alert also urged people not to leave barbecues unattended, to fully extinguish them, and to dispose of cigarette ends carefully. Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged the public to take it seriously and said it had been requested by firefighters.

He said: “This evening, an emergency alert has been sent to people across England and Wales as the wildfire risk remains very high. The request came directly from fire and rescue services. Please take the emergency alert seriously and follow the guidance in place.”

The alerts sounded repeatedly on some devices because the Government broadcasts the signal for a “period of time” to ensure as many phones receive it as possible, the Telegraph understands.

A source said mobile phone settings – including alert reminders, dual sim cards and individuals leaving a signal area – could also result in a device receiving the alert several times.

Members of the public started reporting neighbours to police for hosting barbecues and having bonfires after the alert was sent out. The Gloucestershire Constabulary urged the public to instead call the fire service if they had any “urgent fire-related matters” to report.

Fire services in Surrey, Gloucestershire and South Wales were among those experiencing a high volume of 999 calls.

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the Surrey Fire & Rescue Service said: “Please only call 999 if there is an emergency or a fire producing significant smoke.

“We understand residents may be concerned, but we are unable to respond to reports of neighbours having BBQs, bonfires or campfires in their gardens unless there is an emergency.”

The decision to use the alert system was criticised as unnecessary, with Alex Burghart, the Conservative shadow Northern Ireland secretary, claiming it risked “future misuse of the system”.

“When the severe alert system was established, it was made clear that there will be a very high threshold for its use based on strict criteria centred on an immediate risk to life,” he said.

“Tonight’s use at a national level clearly doesn’t hit that threshold and opens the door to future misuse of the system. Labour needs to publish who signed off the decision to use the alert and the criteria that they were using.”

Matt Warman, the former Conservative Digital Minister, also questioned whether the use of the system for a wildfire alert was proportionate.

A Government source said: “This decision was taken in response to an unprecedented level of risk and in close collaboration with experts in the fire service. Individuals claiming to know better than those serving on the front line are frankly choosing to play politics with public safety.”

England, Wales and Scotland

More than 1.8 million homes in England, Wales and Scotland lie within a vulnerable zone and could be impacted in the case of wildfires.

In Wales, Reform UK and the Conservatives said the alerts should not have been sent in Welsh before English.

In a statement, Reform UK Wales said: “This is dangerous. The overwhelming majority of Wales speaks English. For all emergency announcements, English should come first to avoid any panic or confusion.”

A spokesman for the Welsh Conservatives said: “The Welsh Government must ensure emergency alerts are sent simultaneously in English and Welsh.”

The Government sent out the alert in Wales in Welsh first because of its legal responsibility to promote the Welsh language, a source said. However, it is understood that the decision is set for review over concerns it had confused members of the public.

The Cabinet Office was approached for comment.

It came after Burnham called in the military to fight wildfires.

Firefighters battling more than 30 blazes in South Wales have warned of an “extremely high risk” of the fires spreading, and Burnham said he was sending 100 military personnel to the area to offer “critically needed” support.

Speaking from the West Midlands, where devastating wildfires destroyed 19 houses on Thursday (local time), he also announced a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues because of the “significant risk to the public and the environment” during heatwaves.

The Prime Minister has been keen to front the Government’s response, convening a Cobra meeting on Wednesday and visiting the site of a devastating blaze in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, on Friday.

He has approved the military deployment in South Wales, appointed a new fire minister and announced that he would consider ways to make the country more resilient to fires in future.

Police arrested four 14-year-old boys on Friday on suspicion of arson after a “deliberate fire” was started near Pleasant Heights in Porth, Glamorganshire. They were later released on bail.

Burnham urged people not to light open fires “of any kind”, saying: “You are taking risks with other people’s homes, with other people’s lives, if you act recklessly.”

Later on Friday, the Government appointed Baroness Blake of Leeds as fire minister, serving in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

The Telegraph understands that firefighters in South Wales, who were battling more than 30 separate blazes, had submitted a formal request to the Government for hundreds of military staff to join civilian firefighting teams.

One hundred troops from the Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment have been deployed, with another 100 set to arrive in South Wales by 7pm on Friday.

The troops are tasked with logistical support, driving heavy military trucks to deliver supplies and help the fire service reach locations. Personnel from the headquarters of 22 Engineer Regiment are assisting from the headquarters.

The Welsh authorities have declared a major incident and called in support from neighbouring areas, warning that “fires are affecting a number of communities in various locations and are generating smoke that may be visible for miles across the region”.

Burnham told the BBC that the Met Office believed the dry spell would last until the end of September, when some rain was expected.

He said: “Maybe some rainfall, but not as much as we need, and then we are heading straight into a very, very wet latter part of the year, where the risk of flooding will be maybe greater because of the dry ground conditions.”

The Prime Minister announced plans to send in firefighting planes to combat the spread of wildfires, plus extra financial support for fire services. He said the country had to “face up” to the “changing climate” and needed to transition to “more clean energy”.

It comes after fire chiefs in the West Midlands said they were investigating the possibility that some A-level students celebrating their results on Thursday may have started blazes.

Emergency services in Stourbridge received reports that the fires might have been linked to Year 13 students who celebrated with barbecues and by burning their notepads.

The West Midlands Fire Service told the Birmingham Mail the speculation was being considered and had been shared with fire crews.

“At this stage, we would not want to blame young people, or any particular groups of people, but our investigations are at an early stage,” a spokesman said.

On Thursday (local time), emergency services said they had received thousands of 999 calls. The West Midlands ambulance service said 68 people had been treated by paramedics.

Six firefighters were taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion after battling wildfires in Staffordshire, the county’s fire service said.

Videos posted on social media showed several houses ablaze in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, after grass caught fire near a golf club.

Loxie Williams, who is in her 70s, described how her home of 26 years was “burned to a cinder”.

She and her husband, who live between Stourbridge and West Hagley, returned home at 2pm after reports of the fire but were not allowed into their property, which later caught fire and is now “completely gone”.

Her husband Robin Williams, also in his 70s, told the Mirror: “It’s absolutely gutted, it’s just such a shock. All we’ve got now is the clothes we are standing in, one pair of shoes. At least we’ve got our lives.”

Simon Tuhill, the region’s chief fire officer, said: “This has been one of the most significant incidents that West Midlands Fire Service has ever attended. The devastation is extensive.

“We will do everything we can to minimise that impact and, of course, get people back into their homes. However, it is the case that emergency service presence here will likely run into days.”

More than 100 firefighters were called, and buildings have been left structurally unsafe by extensive fire damage.

The fires were believed to have started in grassland before spreading to homes nearby, Tuhill said.

Drone footage published by the force showed a heat map of the flames that were threatening to engulf homes in the Stourbridge area as smoke billowed across the town.

A rescue centre was set up in the town hall. Stourbridge councillor Andrew Tromans said: “It is my view, and it has been for a while, that Dudley councillors must have an emergency meeting about [how] we protect our borough from the impacts of climate change.”

The neighbouring Hereford and Worcester Fire Service said a large fire in Pershore had damaged homes, with one person treated for smoke inhalation following an incident on Thursday afternoon. Some 200 homes in the area were left without power.

Severn Trent Water warned of disruption to water supplies across the region as a result of the wildfires.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council said there had been 11 major incidents across the UK in the past 24 hours.

Phil Carrigan told the BBC’s Today programme: “It’s been a particularly difficult, busy period for the fire and rescue service, where we’ve been under significant pressure. They’re doing their absolute best to protect communities and properties.”

England and Wales have seen as many wildfires so far this year as in the whole of last year. The Prime Minister plans to convene an emergency meeting about the extreme summer heat.

Some 1017 wildfires have been recorded in England and Wales this year, according to data shared by the National Fire Chiefs Council – the same as last year’s record total. By August 12 last year, 869 wildfires had been recorded.

The West Midlands was subject to an amber warning for extreme heat for much of Thursday before fires were reported.

The Met Office recorded 38.1C temperatures at Kew Gardens in London on Thursday (local time) – the second time this year the country has seen temperatures reach 38C.

Temperatures cooled slightly on Friday, with highs of 34C in the South East, but little rain is forecast for the Midlands and many other parts of the country during the weekend.

On Friday morning, West Midlands residents described how they had fled the wildfires with minutes to spare.

Jane Baxter, 69, and her husband were able to grab their cat before they were forced to evacuate their home.

She said: “Emergency workers knocked on our door and told us we would have to leave. We could see that one of the houses down the road had burned down and we had just a few minutes to leave.

“We took the cat, his basket and food and our medication from the kitchen table but forgot to grab the litter tray, so had to go to the supermarket at night to buy a new one. We had to beg and borrow clothes and other items.”

Natasha Browne, who was evacuating a relative from her home, said “she saw 12-foot flames from the hedges in her garden”.

“From a helicopter view, we think her house is okay but some of the garden is gone,” she said.

Andrew Reynolds, 42, said he watched his childhood home and other terraced houses on Gorleston Rd go up in flames on Thursday evening, which had left his mother Kim Matthews a “wreck”.

Reynolds said: “My Mum’s lost everything. Absolutely everything. There’s nothing saveable. Everyone’s gutted, grieving, people have lost so much and no one can go in to see if they can salvage anything.”

He said his grandmother’s possessions were in the loft and would have been lost in the fire, adding: “It’s all gone, including 100 years’ worth of photos from the family.”

Staffordshire Police said a 23-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman had been arrested on suspicion of arson over a large fire in Stoke-on-Trent.

The force said the arrests were in relation to a grass fire at around 4.15pm on Thursday (local time)in the Goldenhill area. Four homes were affected, alongside a number of gardens.

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