Suspect device found at church

Police said a suspect device has been found at a Catholic church in Newtownabbey
2 February 2013

A suspect device has been discovered at a Catholic church in Co Antrim.

The bomb disposal team was sent to the scene at St Mary's Star of the Sea on the Shore Road in Newtownabbey.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland was also at the scene.

The Shore Road has been closed at Doagh Road and at the main Shore Road roundabout.

Police later confirmed the suspicious object had been a hoax and that the security alert was over.

Army technical officers carried out a controlled explosion on the package and took it away for further examination. The roads have been reopened.

Alliance Party councillor for the Newtownabbey area Billy Webb condemned those responsible for the package.

"I am appalled that a place of worship has been targeted. There is not any justification behind it," Mr Webb said.

He said it was unacceptable, particularly after parts of a pipe bomb were discovered near another Catholic church in Co Antrim on Friday.

The alert disrupted mass at the Sacred Heart church in Ballyclare.

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