Ulster Unionist South Antrim MLA Danny Kinahan has condemned those responsible for the security alert at a Catholic Church in Ballyclare.
Mr Kinahan said:
“I understand that a viable pipe bomb was discovered in the vicinity of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church on the Doagh Road in Ballyclare.
This has been the cause of disruption to local residents and motorists and has required the attention of Army bomb disposal officers.
I utterly condemn whoever is responsible for this act. Given the location involved, there will be a strong suspicion that there may be a sectarian motive behind this incident. If this does turn out to be an attempt to stoke up sectarian tensions in Ballyclare and elsewhere in South Antrim that is also to be condemned.
I know that the vast majority of the community in South Antrim has no time for those who would seek to create and exploit sectarian divisions for their own ends.
Sectarianism in all its forms is an evil and I would appeal to anyone who can assist the Police in catching whoever was responsible for this incident in Ballyclare to come forward immediately.”