'No excuse' for Magherafelt bomb alert says MLA after homes evacuated
A bomb alert in Co Londonderry has been condemned.
At about 8.30pm on Saturday, police said they were in attendance at the Golf Terrace area of Magherafelt following the discovery of a suspicious object.
A road closure was put in place and a number of homes were evacuated.
Golf Terrace has since reopened and residents were able to return to their homes.
By 4.45pm today, the PSNI said the army had “determined that the object may have been a viable explosive device and carried out a controlled explosion”, and the alert was over.
SDLP Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone said today: “The people at Golf Terrace were out of their homes from 7pm last night until just after 4am this morning.
"I was on site with residents until the early hours, and I want to pay tribute to the community for their patience, resilience, and cooperation during what was a deeply distressing and unacceptable disruption to their lives.
“There is absolutely no justification for bringing this type of fear and disorder into our community.”