Omagh: St Mary's Church grounds searched after gunpoint hijack

Mass was cancelled at St Mary's Church in Drumragh on Sunday morning

A motorist has been held at gunpoint by three masked men and forced to drive a suspicious object to a police station in Omagh, County Tyrone.

The hijacking happened near Fireagh Road, off the Dromore Road at about 22:00 BST on Saturday.

As a result, Sunday Mass was cancelled at the nearby St Mary's Church, while police searched the grounds.

A security alert around the police station on the Derry Road in Omagh has now ended.

A number of homes were evacuated on Saturday night and cordons put in place.

Driver 'badly shaken'

Technical officers examined the object. It has now been removed from the scene and will be subject to further investigations to establish its viability.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Insp Will Brown said it was a "misguided and senseless" incident that caused disruption to the local community.

Roads near St Mary's Church were closed by police

"Our thoughts are with the driver, who was, understandably, badly shaken by the ordeal," he added.

Fr Eugene Hasson from St Mary's said it "shouldn't be going on at all" and was "very disruptive to people".

Insp Brown said he was grateful for the public's patience and understanding during ongoing police activity in the Fireagh Road area.

Police have appealed for witnesses and dash-cam footage from anyone who was in the area at the time.

Police said the alert caused disruption to the local community