Londonderry alert: Man forced to drive at gunpoint to police station

A delivery driver has been forced at gunpoint to drive a suspicious object to a Londonderry police station.

The grey Ford Mondeo was hijacked by a number of men at about 22:30 GMT on Sunday.

The driver was forced to abandon the vehicle outside Waterside police station. He was then able to raise the alarm.

Police have said the suspicious object was "an elaborate hoax".

Ch Supt Nigel Goddard said it was a petrol can with a pipe attached which was designed to look like a car bomb.

He said police believed dissident republican group the New IRA may have been behind the incident.

A number of homes were evacuated and a local primary school has closed due to the ongoing security operation.

Ch Supt Goddard said the attack was reckless and the driver was traumatised.

He said police patrols were being stepped up in the north west of Northern Ireland.

"The misguided and senseless actions of those responsible have caused widespread disruption in the local community and beyond"," Ch Supt Goddard said.

He said it caused major disruption with children missing school and families with young children moved out of their homes overnight.

Earlier, Supt Clive Beatty said the driver had been subjected to a "horrific ordeal".

"This reckless and despicable act has brought chaos to the local community in Crescent Link, with many residents having to evacuate their homes," he said.

"Local businesses and a local school are also experiencing disruption this morning".

Police said the suspicious object was placed in the delivery driver's car in the Currynierin area of the city before he was forced to drive the 2.5 miles (4km) to the police station.

Zafar Nazir, a consultant radiologist at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry, was evacuated with his wife and three children, aged four, seven and 12, at about midnight.

The family spent the night in the nearby community centre.

He said the community had been brought together by an "intense situation".

"We are really exhausted, the mind is boggling at the moment. It was a busy and a tense night," he said.

"It is the sort of situation that does not come often but the sort of situation the whole city and community should be prepared for in case it happens next time - there should be a proper protocol for what to do".

Glenda Mellon, who lives in the area, heard a loud bang at about 04:00.

"My husband and I both looked at each other and said 'I think that was a bomb'," she said.

"We listened to hear for sirens after that, but didn't and thought nothing more about it. We got up this morning and had police outside our front and back door.

"Our kids have never experienced this before, it really feels like we have gone backwards."

Colin Torrens, principal of Lisnagelvin Primary School, said he had little choice but to close the school on Monday.

"This is another mindless act from people who have no agenda and who are certainly not welcome in the city or the province," he said.

Police said Crescent Link had now reopened and residents would be allowed to return to their homes.

A number of other roads in the area remain closed.

Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O'Neill said the incident was "extremely concerning".

"More chaos and disruption for the local community," she said in a tweet.

"These people that reach for the past need to hear that it's not available to them."

Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Colum Eastwood told BBC Radio Foyle those responsible had nothing to offer.

"What always happens in these situations is that the ordinary people of this city are put at risk by people who have nothing to offer and are trying to tell people they just exist," he said.

Niree McMorris, from the Irish Street community centre, said it had been open since 23:30 on Sunday to help people put out of their homes.

"There has been a steady flow of families all night," she said.

"People cannot believe this is happening, people who have lived in the area for 20 plus years say they have never seen anything like this."

Gary Middleton, from the Democratic Unionist Party, said it was "absolutely disgraceful" children were being denied the opportunity to go to school and that events at the community centre had been cancelled.

"People are angry, annoyed to have been shifted from their homes by the acts of people who have nothing to offer society," he said.

Ulster Unionist Party councillor Ryan McCready said about 50 people had spent the night in the community centre.

"The impact, even just getting people out of their beds, and now the knock on, denying people a right and access to education, in a safe environment, or to attend their work is a shocking, reckless disregard for society and our way of life."

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) thanked residents for their patience and cooperation throughout the evacuation.

"We'd also like to thank local community representatives in helping to organise emergency shelter," a PSNI spokeswoman added.