Prestonians can now get crime updates direct to their Amazon Alexa device.

Lancashire Police has launched hourly updates on what’s happening via the voice-activated app.

Those signing up for the service and who have the Amazon device will also receive pictures of wanted and missing people to their smart device.

Police in the city are the first in the UK to utilise the smart speaker technology.

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The brainchild of PC Rob Flanagan, the force’s innovations manager, he said: “As a police force we are always looking at ways to engage with our communities.

“Alexa works alongside traditional policing methods to inform the public about the important issues in their neighbourhoods.

“Voice activated searches now account for 10 per cent of online searches and are expected to rise to 50 per cent by 2020.

“We want to be at the forefront of this new technology to make it easier for the public to access the information they want to know.”

“As the technology takes off we will look at different ways we can use Alexa to support our policing priorities.

“It is still very much in its infancy but we are looking forward to exploring the ways in which we can use this technology in the communities we serve.”

If you have an Alexa-enabled device you can sign up via the Amazon site.