Belfast bomb could have killed Christmas partygoers

A bomb that exploded outside a busy restaurant in Belfast city centre following a misleading telephone warning could have killed or maimed festive revellers, a police commander has said.

PSNI officers were in the process of evacuating around a thousand people from bars, eateries, residential accommodation, a theatre and a hotel in the bustling Cathedral Quarter district when the device exploded just before 7pm last night. No-one was injured in the blast.