Children find pipe bombs

Army bomb experts dealt with the devices

Children could have been killed by pipe bombs they found in County Armagh, police have said.

Thirteen pipe bombs were discovered by children playing behind derelict flats in the Westland Road area of Portadown on Thursday.

Christopher McElroy, 8, and his seven-year-old brother David were building a hut with their eight-year-old friend Adam Currie when they discovered the bag full of pipe bombs.

One of the boys threw a couple of the devices on the ground.

The boys then took the bag home to their parents, who immediately called the police.

Adam said: "I brought it to my mum - she put it in the front garden and phoned the police.

"When they got there, they discovered they were real actual bombs."

His grandmother Elizabeth Millsopp said it could have been a different story.

I brought it to my mum - she put it in the front garden and phoned the police Adam Currie Eight-year-old

"How anybody could leave anything on an estate where there's young children playing is beyond belief," she said.

Army bomb experts took the devices away for examination.

It is not clear whether the pipe bombs were dumped or if paramilitaries were storing them for future use.

Chief Inspector Mark Hamilton said the devices were created in order to maim or kill people in the Portadown area.

"They have clearly placed the lives of people in this community, in particular children," he said.

Chief Superintendent Irwin Turbit said it was a "miracle" that the children who picked up the pipe bombs were not maimed or killed.

Craigavon Mayor Ignatius Fox said those responsible for leaving the pipe bombs should realise the consequences of their actions.

"We don't need this type of situation any longer in Northern Ireland and I would certainly condemn it," he said.

"I think they have to step back and think just what their actions can cause."

Police have asked parents to warn their children not to touch anything suspicious and to come to them if they find anything strange.