PEOPLE are being encouraged to download an application for smart phones that could save lives.

The free iPhone app has been launched by Thornbury-based national charity Meningitis Research Foundation.

It includes vital information on the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia, details of their local emergency department latest news and a game challenging them users to blast the life-threatening meningitis bug.

Meningitis and septicaemia can be hard to recognise at first. Symptoms can appear in any order, and can include fever, vomiting, headache and feeling unwell, just like in many mild illnesses.

For more information about the application visit www.meningitis.org/iphone or download the application from the iTunes store.