Derry car bomb causes 'significant damage'

A car bomb exploded today in the North, police have said.

The device, planted in a Vauxhall Corsa, detonated just after midnight outside a bank at the back of the Da Vinci retail complex near the University of Ulster in Derry.

A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: "A warning had been received just an hour earlier and a cordon was in place.

"Initial inquiries suggest there were no injuries. Substantial damage was caused to the retail complex and to the car."

Dozens of homes and businesses, including a nursing home, were evacuated. Motorists are being warned there will be severe traffic congestion in the area later in the morning.