Residents Back Home After Police Disarm Pipe Bombs

More than 20 homes were evacuated after suspicious objects were found in Glenabbey Close and Beraghvale in the Galliagh area at around 00:30 GMT on Thursday.

The "potential devices" have now been secured and removed for forensic examination, but police said it was fortunate they did not explode before being found.

They described the incident as "deplorable."

Tamara McShane, a mother of four, was one of those forced to leave her home.
"I'm so upset, my children were upset and there were police everywhere. I'm only back from finally getting them to school and the kids were full of questions," 

She said the alert had been "scary", and she hoped whoever was responsible "is happy with the disruption and upset caused on a cold and wet night".

"You're left wondering if these two devices were left targeting individuals or the street as a whole," she said.

"I can't believe this is happening."

Chief Inspector Graeme Craig described the incident as "reprehensible".

"The alert caused significant disruption for residents in the area with close to two dozen homes evacuated, including families with children," he said.

"It must have been very distressing to leave your homes in the dark on a cold and wet night, and it caused a huge inconvenience to people trying to get to work and children going to school this morning.

"There is no place for this, and those responsible have no regard for the local community."

He said officers will remain in the area on Thursday as the investigation continues.

Police have appealed to anyone with any information, or who has seen anything suspicious or unpleasant in the area in the last 24 hours, to report it.

In a statement on social media, a local community organization said the alert had shaken "many people."
"Families were woken out of their sleep and made leave their homes in the dark, trying to gather children, all while not really knowing what was happening, the Skeoge community hub said.

"None of this is what our community wants.

"We have worked hard to move forward, to build a place that feels safe and hopeful and incidents like this have no place here anymore."

SDLP councillor John Boyle condemned the disruption to residents.

"Obviously this has caused a lot of disruption and distress for people living in that part of the city," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

"It's absurd, it's really absurd. What will this get us, where will it take us, where is the positivity?

"There's no positivity."