Homes evacuated in Omagh security alert

A NUMBER of homes in the Omagh town area were evacuated late last night following a security alert in the Glenside Housing development on the outskirts of the town.

The Leisure Complex had been offered as temporary accomodation as Army Technical Officers checked a suspect object on th Glencam Road which was later declared by police as ‘nothing untoward.’

Residents returned to their homes at around 1am and the Sinn Fein MP for West Tyrone, Orfhlaith Begley, said the alert had caused significant disruption.

“The Fermanagh and Omagh Council had offered evacuation facilities at the Omagh Leisure Centre. Thankfully, just before 1am, residents were able to return home after the device was removed by Army Technical Officers,” she said.

“Those behind these actions have nothing to offer the community and many young families had to leave their homes in distress.

“These retrograde actions need to stop immediately.”

Local councillor, Ann Marie Fitzgerald and West Tyrone MLAs, Declan McAleer and Catherine Kelly, also attended the scene.

Earlier on Friday, the UlsterHerald received a call from a man claiming to be from the Continuity IRA saying that a blast bomb intended for the PSNI had been left in the Glencam Road area.