Controlled explosion carried out after bomb found outside Carrickfergus house

Q Newsdesk

A man's escaped injury after a viable explosive device was discovered outiside his house in County Antrim last night.

The man told police he thought a firework had gone off  as he heard a bang and saw a flash at the front of the property.

Residents in the Marshallstown Road area of Carrickfergus were forced to evacuate their homes while a controlled explosion was carried out.

Police say if the device had of detonated correctly it could have resulted in serious injury or even death.

Police are appealing for witnesses after a viable explosive device was found outside a house in the Marshallstown Road area of Carrickfergus around 10.30pm last night, Saturday 25 August.https://t.co/D85UIBJnVw

— PSNI (@PoliceServiceNI) August 26, 2018

Chief Inspector Simon Ball said:

“The resident of the house reported hearing a bang and saw a flash at the front of his house and initially thought that a firework had gone off.  He was the only person in the house at the time and, although he was not hurt, he was left shocked by the incident.  

A  controlled explosion was carried out on the object which was outside the front door but had not detonated. It was later declared a viable device.

This was a reckless attack in a residential area and, had the device exploded, it could have caused serious injury or even death.

A number of roads in the area were closed and residents had to be evacuated from their homes for a time, causing significant disruption to our local community.

I would like to thank the community and local residents for their patience while we worked to keep people safe.

Please, if you saw anything or know anything, contact police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 1617 of 25/8/18.