Real IRA 'behind bomb alerts'

Army bomb experts checked a device near Middlepath Street

A person claiming to be from the dissident republican Real IRA said it was behind a series of hoax bomb alerts in Belfast, the police have said.

Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland said the alerts caused widespread disruption during the morning rush hour on Thursday and could have caused delays to the emergency services.

Thousands of commuters were left stranded when the Westlink was closed and railway services were cancelled between Dunmurry and Lisburn.

However, the alerts are now over.

Middlepath Street, in the east of the city, was closed and traffic was diverted towards the Odyssey along the Sydenham Road while the area was checked.

There were tailbacks on the Westlink, after a section of dual carriageway between Broadway roundabout and the Grosvenor Road was cordoned off.

One lane of traffic on the Westlink came to a standstill

Police used specially trained dogs to search along the roadside.

The diversions meant congestion on the Falls Road and Donegall Road.

Trains were also disrupted for a while when the line between Lisburn and Belfast was closed. Services are now returning to normal.

The knock-on effects of the road closures were more acutely felt in major transport intersections, such as the Stockmans Lane slip-road off the M1 motorway.