THE ARMY were called into Belfast late last night to deal with a pipe bomb found just a few hundred yards form the site where another one had exploded a few hours earlier.

Officers from the bomb disposal unit were called to La Salle Park, in the west of the city, last night after a home-made pipe bomb had detonated at about 8pm at the nearby St James Park.

The bomb that did go off is reported by the BBC to have been attached to a container of petrol. Nobody was injured as a result of either incident, though a number of homes had to be evacuated while the devices were removed.

A family of six – which included a four-year-old girl and a pregnant woman – were among those who were reportedly nearby the site of the explosion at La Salle Park, where the blast damaged a car and a van.

The western area of the city is known as being a predominantly nationalist area, though the Police Service of Northern Ireland has refused to give any indication of who it believes may have been behind the attacks.

A local Sinn Féin councillor, Briege Brownlee, condemned the attack and said those behind them had “shown absolute disregard for this community.

“St James has suffered enough over the period of the conflict without reckless actions such as this causing distress and upset.”