Suspect device found outside Antrim church
A suspect device, later confirmed to be a hoax, was discovered at a Catholic church in Co Antrim today.
The bomb disposal team was sent to the scene at St Mary's Star of the Sea on the Shore Road in Newtonabbey.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland was also at the scene.
The Shore Road was closed at Doagh Road and at the main Shore Road roundabout.
Members of the public intending to attend the evening service at St Mary's were advised it had been changed to 7pm at the nearby Greencastle Church.
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. Roads were then 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.
