Police investigate security alert pipe bomb reports

Police attended the scene of the alert on Wednesday

Police have said a security alert in Londonderry may have been caused by two viable pipe bombs being left in the Carnhill area of the city.

A number of homes were evacuated following some residents in the Carnhill estate, in the greater Shantallow area, hearing "two loud bangs" in the area on Tuesday evening.

A number of vehicles were damaged following the incident, the police have said.

Several cordons were in place for a time on Wednesday but the police have since confirmed that the security alert has now ended.

Detectives from North West Criminal Investigation Division are leading the investigation and are working to establish what caused the damage to the vehicles.

"One line of enquiry, at this time, is that two viable pipe bombs had been left in the area," Det Sgt Ballentine said.

"From our enquiries so far, it has been established that at least three vehicles have been damaged.

"There have been no reports of any injuries at this time."

The police have appealed to anyone with doorbell, CCTV or dash-cam footage of which may assist their investigation to get in contact with them.

They also said they are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen two males "acting suspiciously" in the area at about 22:35 BST on Tuesday.

The police thanked everyone affected by the alert, especially those who had to leave their homes, for their co-operation.

'Two loud bangs'

Geraldine McKinney said she was watching TV upstairs when she heard two very loud bangs outside.

"It was like two explosions," she said.

"I've not got a clue what the cause was but it was quite scary."

Geraldine McKinney says she heard two loud bangs while she was watching TV

Ms McKinney, who left her home for a time, has since returned.

One resident, called Catherine, said she also heard two loud bangs during the night.

"We were just lying in bed and we just heard two loud bangs; we both looked at each other, me and my partner, and said 'that was definitely not a firework, it was definitely more than that'," she said.

"We didn't see anything so we just went to sleep, then we just woke up this morning and saw the police."

A resident, who is called Lisa, says her car was damaged after she heard two loud bangs

Another resident, named Lisa, said her car was damaged last night.

"I came out of the house and saw that there was four vehicles damaged and mine was one of them - there is a hole on the side of my car.

"I think it was caused by whatever exploded and it's obviously hit my car and there's a hole now on the wing."

A van and a car have been removed the scene for forensic examination

Another resident in nearby flats told BBC News NI that she and her partner were awoken in the middle of the night by the noise and her dogs started barking and were really terrified.

"My partner went outside, I think a lot of people did to see what was going on. He then saw that there was a lot of damage to a van, the tyres were burst and wing mirror was damaged."

She said some neighbours were moved out of their homes but she was allowed to stay.