CakePHP: remove cakePHP Flash messages using JQuery

Typically you would have all the cakePHP flash messages inside the div - alert_messages.

By using JQuery, we can remove these after intended time period.
The following example removes the cakePHP flash message after 5 seconds time period.

$(document).ready(function() {
  $('#alert_messages').animate({opacity: 1.0}, 5000).fadeOut();  
});