Houses evacuated in castlebar bomb scare

Several houses in the Moneen area of Castlebar were evacuated this morning after a number of suspected explosive devices were found there.

An army bomb disposal unit was called in after gardaí discovered the suspect devices during a planned search operation.

Traffic diversions were put in place for a time until the bomb team arrived around 2 p.m. and took the items to a safe place where a controlled explosion will be carried out.

A spokesman for the Defence Forces said a short while ago they were unable to confirm at this early stage whether explosives are actually involved.

It is understood the items found were suspected to be improvised explosive devices, more commonly known as pipe bombs