Mother and children escape injury after pipe bomb explodes

By Claudia Savage (Press Association)

A mother and children have escaped injury after a pipe bomb exploded when it was pushed through the letterbox of a north Belfast house.

Police have described the incident in the early hours of Friday as “shocking”.

A number of people were evacuated from their homes during a security alert caused by the explosion.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “We received a report that a pipe bomb had been pushed through a letterbox at the home in the Stanhope Street area at around 3am.

“It exploded fully, causing damage to the door and throughout the hallway.

“A number of residents had to be evacuated from their homes for a time this morning, while ammunition technical officers examined the remnants of the device.

“We understand the disruption caused as this public safety operation was carried out, and thank the local community for their patience.”

All cordons have now been lifted and residents have returned to their homes.

The spokesperson continued: “Our community has rightly condemned this shocking incident.

“A mother and her children were inside the house at the time of the attack and we are thankful that they escaped injury, though they are obviously very shaken by their ordeal.

“Our inquiries are ongoing and we are keen to hear from anyone who noticed suspicious behaviour in the area around the time of the explosion.

“Please call us on 101, quoting reference number 141 16/10/26, if you have any information – including CCTV, dashcam or other footage of the area that could help with our investigation.”

Alliance Party MLA Nuala McAllister said it was a “shocking and senseless attack”.

She said: “Whilst we can only be thankful that nobody was hurt, there were young children in the property at the time and we could very easily have been looking at a much more tragic outcome as a result of the reckless behaviour of whoever’s responsible.

“There’s no place in our community for this kind of violence against anybody.

“I’d encourage anyone who has any information that could help the police in bringing those responsible to justice, to please get in contact with them or report it anonymously via Crimestoppers.”

Nicola Nugent's home was targeted in a pipe bomb attack. PICTURE MAL MCCANN