Terror Alerts By Text

Great news for the chronically worried in Merton: a new scheme will allow borough residents to get the latest news on terror attacks, break-ins and traffic problems sent by SMS. The CommunitySafe feed monitors "critical incidents" around the city, though the current crop of notices offers a dour snapshot of Londonwide crime, running from the banal - a suspect vehicle at Victoria "dealt with as non suspicious" - to the ridiculous - "No Trick or Treater Poster now available". It's a litany of tedious news unlikely to fire the imagination of The Wire's scriptwriters, but manna from heaven for worrywarts and the nosey.