WORRIED people dialled 999 to warn police after a York bus sounded an automatic alarm today to indicate the vehicle was 'under attack.'

First York's Number 1 bus was travelling along Gillygate this afternoon when a message blared out, warning: "This bus is under attack. Please dial 999 immediately."

First York said one of its buses, with passengers on board, had suffered a malfunction, which resulted in a warning message to customers on board the service.

Managing director Marc Bichtemann said the vehicle was removed from service to rectify the issue and was back on the roads later on.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said the force received five calls from members of the public at about 1pm.

She said they called 999 after they saw a bus travelling down Gillygate in York, sounding an alarm indicating that it was under attack.

"Inquiries with the bus company confirm that this was thankfully, a false alarm," she said

"The people who reported the incident did the right thing by calling 999."