HOUSES EVACUATED AFTER PIPE BOMB FINDS

IN County Armagh 20 people had to move out of their homes after a pipe bomb was discovered at the rear of a house in Portadown.

The device, discovered in Westland Road around 10.30pm on Wednesday night meant that 20 people had to leave their homes during the alert and stay in a local church hall.

Meanwhile in Ballymena, a member of the public brought two devices to the local RUC station around 7pm. They were home-made devices which had been discovered in the Harryville area and were subsequently dealt with by Army bomb experts.

At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, the RUC said the type of devices discovered were worrying. Inspector Bob McQuillan of Ballymena RUC station said: “The design of these particular pipe bombs is a very sinister development. They are intended to be attached to keyholes of exterior doors only to be activated when the door opens, exploding at head height. This is a new development and I would urge everyone to be vigilant.” He further attributed the devices to loyalist paramilitary origin.

A fourth device was discovered in North Belfast when an army bomb expert made safe a pipe bomb discovered at Alliance Avenue. (AMcE)