Man, 26, charged over bomb attack bid

A 26-year-old man was tonight charged in connection with an attempted bomb attack by dissident republicans two years ago.

The man was charged with possession of explosives with intent to endanger life and with possession of items likely to be of use to terrorists.

The charges relate to the interception by police of a 500lb bomb near Lisburn, Co Antrim in March 2000.

The man, who is expected to appear at Lisburn Magistrates Court in the morning, is the fifth person to be charged in relation to the incident.

At the time of the discovery, police sources said they believed they had prevented an attack on the security services in Lisburn by republicans opposed to the peace process.

The attack was foiled when two cars, one carrying 500lb of home-made explosives, were stopped on the A1 carriageway near Hillsborough Co Down.

Three people were arrested at the time and a number of houses were searched in a follow-up operation in west Belfast.

At the time, Chief Inspector Ken Henning said the movement of explosives on such a busy road had posed a considerable threat to the entire community.

‘‘If the explosives had been detonated they would have caused a considerable loss of life,’’ he added.