Bomb hoax at NI mail sorting office

A suspect package at Northern Ireland’s main postal sorting office was declared a hoax today by police.

British army bomb disposal experts were called at 1.45pm to the Royal Mail sorting office in Mallusk, Co Antrim after a staff member discovered a suspicious package.

The package was declared safe but police said they were retaining it for further examination.

Management at the Royal Mail sorting office had put staff on high alert after three letter bombs were delivered in the past week.

Workers were twice evacuated and then allowed back after army bomb disposal experts made safe the first two devices.

But when the third was discovered the centre was evacuated and sorting operations were halted, leading to widespread postal delays.