Man arrested on suspicion of possessing explosives

A man has been arrested on suspicion of possessing explosives under suspicious circumstance following a security alert in County Londonderry.

The alert, which has now ended, caused a number of houses to be evacuated near Maghera.

The man in his 50s, who is in police custody, has also been arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis and possession of a Class B controlled drug.

Residents have returned to their homes and all roads have re-opened.

Peter and Susan Howard were allowed back into their home on Wednesday morning

The alert followed the discovery of a suspicious object on the Ranaghan Road on Tuesday evening.

Police said they will remain in the area while enquiries are continuing.

Det Insp Fenton said a further update would be provided soon.

There were about 20 homes near the property at the centre of the alert.

Peter and Susan Howard, who live just a few doors away, said they were allowed to return home shortly before 10:00 GMT on Wednesday morning.

Mrs Howard told BBC News NI they had been at home looking after their grandson on Tuesday lunchtime when a ''knock came to the door''.

''It was so out of the blue to see a policeman standing there. When he said, 'evacuate and you have got 10 minutes', my first thought was concern for our grandson,'' she said.

"You never think something like this will happen here in the middle of nowhere.''

Mr Howard said the police ''were very nice, polite and helpful'' but initially he and his wife ''just didn't know what was going on".

At about 19:00 on Tuesday they were told the alert was likely to continue overnight.

They spent some time in a local leisure centre before being put up in a local hotel.

''It was a real inconvenience but we are just glad to be home and grateful everyone is safe," he said.