Anthrax fears of Belfast woman

The parcel was found in the Falls Road area of west Belfast

A Belfast woman has told how she was involved in a major emergency operation after fearing she had been sent a package containing anthrax in the post.

Margaret Kelly and her two-year-old grandson, Tom, were treated with antibiotics after white powder was found inside a card sent to her home in the Falls Road area of the city.

The powder has been sent to England for analysis and the first test results are due on Thursday.

I was standing on the street wrapped in blankets frozen stiff with the child in my arms

Margaret Kelly

Mrs Kelly from Dunville Street said her ordeal began after she lifted out the card and saw powder on Tuesday.

"When I saw the powder I was so shocked. Anthrax just hit my mind. The child had brought it into me and I was worried about him," she told BBC Radio Ulster.

She said she washed and changed and washed her grandson.

The emergency services then arrived at the house and Mrs Kelly said she was told to strip and was then hosed down in her back yard.

"They hosed me down with the child and the child went into hysterics with the force of the water," she said.

"It was a while before the ambulance would accept me into it to go to the hospital. They were not going to take me.

"I was standing on the street wrapped in blankets frozen stiff with the child in my arms, and he was in hysterics, squealing."

The results of tests are due later

The fire brigade's divisional officer, Chris Kerr, said his officers had followed normal procedures.

"These brigade procedures are tried and tested," he said.

"That's the standard procedure for decontaminating someone who may have been contaminated by a chemical or other agent."

Northern Ireland's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Henrietta Campbell, said a decision had been taken at the scene to "treat it as suspicious".

"The fire brigade were called in and removed the package," she said.

Etta Campbell: Package has been "sent for analysis"

"It has been sent for analysis and the people in contact with the package were then started on antibiotics as is the normal procedure," she said.

Dr Campbell said her officials implemented plans put in place since the Gulf War to cope with the possible exposure of people to biological weapons.

She said the authorities were following the use of anthrax around the world closely but were also trying to deal with false alarms.

Meanwhile, the offices of Derry City Council have been evacuated following the discovery of a letter containing white powder.

Up to 180 people left their offices at Strand Road at about 1015 BST on Wednesday and the emergency services attended the scene.

In a separate incident, a post office sorting office in Belfast has been evacuated due to an anthrax alert, after a woman opened a letter containing white powder.

The RUC has urged anyone receiving suspicious mail to contact them for advice.

The Home Office said on Tuesday there was no intelligence to suggest there was a "specific threat" to Britain from biological or chemical attack.