People living in a North Belfast district were caught in a midnight bomb scare this morning.
Residents in the Bruslee Way area of the New Lodge had to move to the back of their homes as the bomb squad dealt with a suspicious object.
The alert ran from around midnight to 3am before ATO declared the object a hoax. It is understood the object had wires coming from it and was taped up in some way. It was found lying next a car in the area.
JJ Magee, a Sinn Fein councillor in the area, said people “were woken from their beds with the police rapping at their door at midnight”.
He added: “Thankfully people didn’t have to be evacuated, but they were told to move to the back of their houses and it was three in the morning before the bomb squad had the situation sorted. Belfast City Council helped out by opening the local community centre, but it wasn’t needed in the end. Fair play to them for coming out though.
“I’d just ask the people behind this thing to explain what they're at, and to go away and try and become something positive in their community rather than a negative.”
The police confirmed that they “attended a security alert in the Bruslee Way area of Belfast, following a report of a suspicious object”.
ATO “attended the scene and declared the object a hoax”.
Inspector Murphy said he “would appeal to anyone who has any information that could assist police with their investigations to contact police at Tennent Street on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 2128 28/09/19”.
The police added that anyone can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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