Army diffuses suspect device near flats

RESIDENTS in a Dublin block of flats said their children could have been killed by a pipe bomb discovered in an empty box of Pringles crisps yesterday morning.

The army bomb disposal unit said the device was not a hoax and would have exploded if it were not discovered by a caretaker who came to clean the flats.

The Defence Forces said it was “sinister” that the bomb was left in an empty crisp container, and this was particularly worrying because it could have attracted the attention of children.

The device was found by the caretaker at about 8.30 yesterday morning outside the Braithwaite Street flats in the Pimlico area of Dublin’s south inner city.

The army bomb disposal unit was called and dozens of residents of the flats were evacuated. A controlled explosion took place just after 10am and residents were allowed to return to their homes an hour later.

After deconstructing the bomb, the army handed it over to gardaí in Kevin Street station for further investigation.

The pipe bomb, described by the army as “a crude home-made device”, was attached to the wing-mirror of a car with silver tape and had a string attached to it.

It contained shrapnel material including nails and ball bearings.

A subsequent examination confirmed it was viable and could have caused serious injury and loss of life had it exploded before the army got to it.

“The disguising of this precarious, crude, home-made device in readily recognisable packaging is disturbing. This could have attracted the attention of children in the vicinity with potentially dangerous results,” a defence forces spokesperson said.

One mother living in the flats said they were lucky the children were on holidays from schools, otherwise they might have started to play with the Pringles box.

“I live just metres away. It was attached to a car right beside where my car was parked. All I can say is thank God there was no school for the kids this morning because God knows what would have happened. If someone got into one of those cars it would have been disastrous. I’m gobsmacked,” she said.

Another resident said: “I let my dogs out in the morning and they usually pick up everything, so they could have picked it up and been blown to pieces.”