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Police 'frustrated' by alerts across NI | |
(40 minutes later) | |
Police have condemned a number of security alerts which brought parts of Northern Ireland to a standstill on Friday. | |
The PSNI dealt with 14 alerts and closed a number of roads including the M2, M3 and the Westlink in Belfast. | |
Motorway traffic came to a halt as a controlled explosion was carried out on an abandoned van at Dock Street. | |
In the latest incident, the railway line between Belfast and Lisburn is closed following an alert in Dunmurray. | |
Army bomb experts are dealing with an suspicious object at a railway crossing at Ashley Park. | |
Chief Superintendent Alan Todd said that alerts were "clearly designed and deliberately designed to inconvenience the public and to create a very difficult start to what should be an enjoyable bank holiday weekend for the communities across the province. | |
"We have responded to those incidents and we've done so quickly and efficiently with the object of getting people back on the move as quickly as possible," he added. | |
"It is frustrating. It has been a frustrating day. But not as frustrating as sitting in gridlock traffic." | |
Hoaxes | Hoaxes |
There were several other alerts in Belfast and Londonderry, which were later declared hoaxes. | |
ATO examined a vehicle on Brougham Street and carried out a controlled explosion. | ATO examined a vehicle on Brougham Street and carried out a controlled explosion. |
Stockmans Way off Stockmans Lane was re-opened after being closed due to a report of a suspicious object. It was declared an elaborate hoax. | |
A number of people had to leave a shopping centre, during another alert in the Royal Avenue area of Belfast, but nothing was found in a police search. | A number of people had to leave a shopping centre, during another alert in the Royal Avenue area of Belfast, but nothing was found in a police search. |
There were also three bomb alerts in Newtownabbey and one on the Strand Road in Derry, which were all hoaxes. | |
A suspicious device found at Finaghy Road North in Belfast near the railway line also turned out to be a hoax. | A suspicious device found at Finaghy Road North in Belfast near the railway line also turned out to be a hoax. |