Dissident bomb left near special school

A dissident republican bomb has been discovered near a special needs school in Northern Ireland, police said.

The bomb in Lurgan, Co Armagh, was designed to kill or maim anybody nearby, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) added. The security alert later ended and the device was removed for forensic examination.

Extremists opposed to the peace process have been active in the town over recent years.

Chief Inspector Anthony McNally said: “This device was designed to kill or maim anyone close by, police officers or local people alike. Those responsible showed blatant disregard for the local community and put the lives of local people, indeed local children at risk.

“We are very fortunate no one was killed or injured.”

Ceara School in Lurgan was evacuated. Principal Dr Peter Cunningham said the disruption had been “immense” and children and parents had been left “anxious”.

“We were able to prevent the children coming to school because we have a texting service, so we were able to do that very quickly when the PSNI told us to close the school,” he told the BBC.