Northern Ireland

Suspicious object discovered in Co Antrim declared a hoax, police say

Police officers sealed off the village of Stoneyford as a bomb disposal robot examined an area on Stoneyford Road. Picture by Justin Kernoghan/ Photopress
Police officers sealed off the village of Stoneyford as a bomb disposal robot examined an area on Stoneyford Road. Picture by Justin Kernoghan/ Photopress Police officers sealed off the village of Stoneyford as a bomb disposal robot examined an area on Stoneyford Road. Picture by Justin Kernoghan/ Photopress

A SUSPICIOUS object discovered in Co Antrim has been declared a hoax, police have said.

A security alert was sparked in Stoneyford village near Lisburn at around noon yesterday.

Some routes close to the Stoneyford Road were closed and residents in the area were forced to leave their homes during the alert.

But a PSNI spokesman later said: "ATO and police have examined a suspicious object that was discovered in the area and declared it a hoax.

"The object has been taken for further examination."