Firebomb 'could have cost lives'

The shop was evacuated before the device set fire to surrounding stock

People could have been killed by a firebomb which partially detonated at a toy store in County Tyrone, the shop owner has said.

Army technical officers found the device in Cookstown.

It followed a phone call to a media organisation on Friday evening that incendiary devices had been left at two businesses in Cookstown.

The device was found hidden within a fast food container in the Toymaster store on the Dungannon Road.

The shop was evacuated before the device set fire to some surrounding stock and burnt itself out.

A supermarket in the town was also evacuated, and a number of other premises were searched.

It's understood shopkeepers in Cookstown had been on alert following a warning from the police on Thursday.

Device was placed on this shelf in Toymaster

A PSNI spokesman said "investigations into the exact nature of the object are continuing".

"Police in Cookstown would urge members of the public to be vigilant. If they come across any suspicious packages, or any boxes or packages with a suspicious object inside, to contact them immediately."

The security forces also carried out a search of Tesco in Cookstown, but nothing was found.