A Coalisland councillor has told how a member of the public contacted her to report that a ‘pipe bomb’ had been located on top of a car in the carpark of a chapel in Brackaville earlier today, Wednesday.
The Sinn Fein Torrent representative said she understood the owner of the car had been tending to a family grave at the time of the discovery.
Police are currently at the scene of a security alert on the Brackaville Road and some residents of a nearby housing development have been evacuated.
St Joseph’s College, which is adjacent to the chapel, has also announced that it will be closed tomorrow because planned work at the school was disrupted by the security operation.
Speaking to the TIMES, Cllr Dillon said: “At this stage we have no way of knowing whether this is a viable device or a hoax but I was alerted to the discovery of a pipe bomb on top of a car this morning.
“I contacted the police at around 12 and they were out pretty quickly.
Cllr Dillon said pupils from a nearby school were also on their way to the church but were, thankfully, stopped before they arrived there earlier today and warned about the ongoing alert.