Pipe bomb explosion investigated

Area was closed off during a police search

An explosion in a rural area of County Antrim is believed to have been caused by a pipe bomb.

The blast happened at the junction of Reahill Road and Cullyburn Road in Mossley at about 2215 GMT on Wednesday.

Local people reported hearing a loud bang. One resident heard a car accelerating away from the scene at speed just before the blast.

No-one was injured and no damage was caused in the area which was closed to traffic as investigations continued.

Police search teams attended the scene of the incident.

A man who lives close to the scene said that he went outside after the blast and found little pieces of crimped copper piping lying all over the road.

The blast happened at a junction of two narrow rural roads in the hills close to Mossley on the outskirts of Belfast.

The device was abandoned in the middle of the road.

Police have appealed to anyone who may have noticed anything suspicious to contact them.