FAMILIES were forced to leave their homes after a pipe bomb was found in Derry’s Waterside.
Police were called to the Tamneymore Park area at around midnight yesterday.
Army technical officers made the device safe before it was removed for further examination.
Detective sergeant Brian Reid appealed to anyone who noticed any suspicious activity to contact police.
Sinn Fein councillor Christopher Jackson, who lives in the area, said if the bomb had gone off it would have seriously injured anyone close by.
“I am making it clear to those responsible for leaving this viable pipe bomb that the Waterside community does not want this,” he said.
The device was also condemned by SDLP assembly member Mark H Durkan and Alliance MLA Trevor Lunn.
Meanwhile, a 59-year-old man has been released unconditionally after being arrested by detectives investigating a paramilitary-style shooting in a bookmaker's shop in Derry on Monday.
A 23-year-old man was shot in the leg at Central Drive in the Creggan area.
It was one of two shootings in the city within three days.
On Wednesday evening, a 48-year-old man also suffered gunshot wounds to both legs after he was attacked at Glenowen Park in the city.
