Bomb victim is buried

Mavis McFall had to be held up by her daughters

The funeral of the civilian worker killed in an explosion in Londonderry on Thursday has taken place.

David Caldwell, a 51-year-old father of four, died when a booby trap device, inside a lunchbox, exploded at a territorial army base on the Limavady Road.

In the sweltering heat, the cortege was followed by scores of neighbours and friends.

Everybody feels under attack and under siege as a result of this, because it strikes nerves which are rather raw at the moment

Bishop Seamus Hegarty

Mr Caldwell's grief-stricken partner Mavis McFall had to be held up by her daughters.

Several hundred mourners packed the country church, including the Democratic Unionist Party MP Gregory Campbell and local SDLP assembly member Annie Courtney.

They heard Mr Caldwell's brother-in-law Les Street read out a poem written by his young niece Alison.

Mourners at his funeral heard a call for no retaliation.

He was buried after the funeral service at Gortnessy Presbyterian Church in Derry.

'Entire community'

Four men and a woman being questioned by detectives about the attack were released without charge on Saturday.

Mr Caldwell's family held a private family service at their home at Backhill Road before travelling the short distance to Gortnessy Presbyterian Church.

The service was conducted by the Reverend Jim Gray.

In his address, Mr Gray said David Caldwell's main concern was for his immediate family and his mother, who wanted no retaliation for the murder.

He said Mr Caldwell's murder would not further any violent cause.

"It will only harden a determination to resist the violent overthrow of society. There has been too much suffering in our country, too many families grieving," he said.

He said Mr Caldwell was a decent man and was respected in the community.

"He had served the people of the province as a member of the UDR during dangerous times and had come through safely, only to be killed at a time when people are looking forward to greater peace."

David Caldwell: Former UDR soldier killed in blast

Mr Caldwell was buried in Ballyowen Cemetery.

The Catholic Bishop of Derry, Seamus Hegarty, has condemned the murder.

Dr Hegarty said the murder sent shock waves through the entire community.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster on Sunday, he said: "It has sent reverberations all over the city.

"Everybody feels under attack and under siege as a result of this, because it strikes nerves which are rather raw at the moment, even in the wider community - not just in Derry city."

Dissident republicans have been blamed for the killing.

Dissident republicans

Security sources told the BBC they believed the Real IRA was behind the attack.

An Army spokesman described the blast as "an outrage, a despicable cowardly attack on an innocent civilian and should be condemned by all law-abiding people".

A bomb attack in February at Magilligan Army base, County Londonderry, left a civilian worker critically injured.

At the time, police said they believed dissident republicans, opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process, were responsible.

Dissidents have also been blamed for attacks on nearby Army bases at Ballykelly and Ebrington.