Schoolboy finds pipe bomb in Northern Ireland

A Northern Ireland school was evacuated yesterday after an eight-year-old boy found a pipe bomb in the playground, in what police said was a “cowardly” attack blamed on militants opposed to the peace process.

Police in the British-run province said a “viable device” was found at the primary school in Antrim and warned that it was only by “sheer good fortune” that none of the children were hurt.

The boy, Brendan Shannon, told the BBC he had spotted what looked like a “golden pipe thing” in the playground as he arrived at St Comgall’s school.

“I just got off my bike and just touched it to see if it was okay. Then I just lifted it up,” he said.

Shannon carried the piece of copper piping to show his teacher, who found a banger-type device packed inside, local lawmaker Thomas Burns said, adding that three similar devices had been found near homes in Antrim last month.

He said a pro-British militant group was being blamed for planting the bombs, which come amid a spate of small-scale attacks in recent months mainly committed by nationalist militants opposed to the peace process in the province.

The pupils at the Antrim school were swiftly evacuated to a nearby church hall.

The device “has been declared viable and has been removed for further examination,” a police spokesman said.