Belfast's Kennedy Centre security alert ends

The alert at the Kennedy Centre started on Saturday morning

A security alert at a shopping centre in west Belfast has ended after being declared a hoax.

The Kennedy Centre in the Falls Road area was evacuated and closed after an alert began on Saturday morning.

It is understood the alert was sparked by a telephone warning but nothing was found during a search.

SDLP councillor Tim Attwood said it had caused "massive disruption, with families with small children having to be evacuated".

He added: "People naturally have absolutely no patience with this sort of thing and the sort of criminal mind which thinks them up."