24/08/2001

Pipe bomb escape in north Belfast

A number of people have escaped injury after two pipe bomb attacks in north Belfast.

The devices exploded in the rear gardens of two houses in Deerpark Parade just before 11pm on Thursday.

Police have said that a conservatory at one of the houses was badly damaged. A police spokesperson said it was “a miracle no-one was seriously injured.”

Dolores and Dermot Hoy were in the living room of their home when the device exploded. Mr Hoy has maintained they were targeted because they are Catholics.

The couple said they have now decided to leave the house where they have lived for 35 years.

The Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan telephoned the couple after the incident to express his concern.

Another pipe bomb also exploded in the garden of a neighbour's house. The householder was hanging out washing at the time but escaped unhurt.

The police said they believed both attacks were sectarian.

In a separate attack, a man was slightly injured after a number of paint bombs were thrown at his home by a gang of youths in the Knuttsford Drive area of north Belfast.

The incident happened shortly after 9.30pm on Thursday night.

The back of the house was covered in paint, while a window was broken and two cars and a caravan were also damaged. (AMcE)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

21 August 2001
Overnight gun and pipe bomb attacks
A number of people have escaped injury after a series of gun and pipe bomb attacks on their homes in County Antrim. A ten-year-old boy escaped in jury after shots were fired into a house at Mounthill Drive in Cloughmills, County Antrim.
18 November 2013
Weekend Bomb Attacks Condemned
A spate of bomb attacks over the weekend has been condemned by the First and deputy First Minister and parties across the political spectrum. A police patrol was attacked with a pipe bomb in County Tyrone on Saturday. A security alert began in the Ballycolman estate, Strabane, at about 20:25, following news that something had been thrown at police.
29 June 2001
POLICE TREAT BOMB ATTACKS AS SECTARIAN
POLICE are treating a nail bomb attack on a house in South Belfast just after midnight on June 29 as sectarian. A woman sleeping upstairs escaped unharmed when the device was thrown through the living room window at Upper Dunmurry Lane. It exploded causing damage to the living room starting a fire. The woman is being treated for shock.
19 August 2016
Petrol Bomb Thrown At Community Centre In L'Derry
A petrol bomb has been thrown at a community centre in Co L'Derry. The device was thrown at the Dove House building at around 11.30pm on Thursday, 18 August. Scorch damage was caused to the front of the building. Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact them.
02 July 2001
BOMB ATTACKS BLAMED ON LOYALISTS
LOYALISTS have been blamed for bomb attacks on houses in Belfast over the weekend. In the first attack, a man and woman and her children aged four and five escaped injury when a blast bomb was thrown at their home in north Belfast. The device exploded at the front of the house on the Deerpark Road just after midnight on Saturday 30 June.