Taxi driver told to bring 'bomb'

The taxi driver was told to go to Strabane courthouse

Armed and masked men in Strabane told a taxi driver they had put a bomb in his car and ordered him to bring it to the town's courthouse.

Bomb experts who examined the vehicle overnight said the device was a hoax.

Residents living nearby spent the night out of their homes as the area was cordoned off.

Four men, two believed to be carrying handguns, approached the taxi driver at about 2300 BST on Friday as he arrived for a job at Townsend Street.

Sinn Fein councillor Danny Breslin said: "It's horrific to think about it - I'm sure he'll be traumatised for a long time.

"We don't want these random bomb scares, disrupting traffic and stopping people from going about their business."

Police said a number of petrol bombs were thrown at officers in Meeting House Street at about 0130 BST. It is thought no-one was injured.

A police spokesman said reports were also received of a group of masked youths in the Carlton Drive area of the town.

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A masked gang forces a taxi driver to drive a hoax bomb to Strabane Courthouse.