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Residents return to homes after security alert ends

BBC police road closed sign with police car in background at the scene of security alertBBC
Police say they received a report of a "suspicious object" on Tuesday afternoon

Residents have been advised it is safe to return to their homes following a security alert in County Tyrone.

Police attended after a report of a suspicious object in Maplebrook Court in Coalisland on Tuesday.

A number of homes in the street had been evacuated.

Police apologised for any inconvenience and thanked members of the public for their patience.

Ms Dossantos is wearing a brown coat and a patterned scarf. She's standing in the street. There is a police car behind her. She has brown eyes and shoulder-length hair.
Renata Dossantos was "worried" about her dog before she got him out of the house

Resident Renata Dossantos was unable to "get home" after finishing work earlier and is unable to get her uniform to go to a different job this evening.

"I have a job tomorrow very early, which again is affecting me with my clothes," she said.

Ms Dossantos, who is originally from Brazil, had also been "very worried" about her dog who had been "in the house by himself" but she was able to retrieve it with police help.

She said a police officer had advised residents to wait in a civic centre if they have nowhere to go, but she planned to travel to her boyfriend's house in Omagh.

A man with brown hair looks at the camera. He is wearing a hoodie which has a black body, a burnt orange right sleeve, and a dark purple left sleeve. In the background, there is police tape, as well as a PSNI car.
SDLP Mid Ulster councillor Malachy Quinn

Speaking at the time of the security alert, SDLP Mid Ulster councillor Malachy Quinn told BBC News NI the alert caused "a lot of disruption".

"We have schools just finishing and people getting ready to finish their working day," he said.

"People are annoyed it's fair to say, obviously if the device ends up being viable people will have been happy to have been taken to safety, obviously the police are only doing their job.

"I think at least 60 homes could be affected at this stage."