Sinn Féin hits out at those behind Ballycolman Hoax disruption

Strabane Sinn Féin Cllr Brian Mc Mahon says that the elaborate hoax device which caused 5 hours of hardship and disruption for residents of the Ballycolman on Saturday is but the latest in a long litany of recent such incidents carried out by a small and unrepresentative element who appear to derive some form of twisted pleasure from torturing the local community.

The local councilor who remained at the scene until the early hours of this morning liaising between local residents and the PSNI in an effort to keep disruption to a minimum said,
“A device was thrown at the back of a family home at the top of the Estate sparking a security alert which continued for five hours until it was eventually declared an elaborate hoax.

 “Given the proximity of the suspect device to the Community Centre, it would have been unable to have bee n opened up to accommodate residents forced to evacuate so, along with others, I  worked to secure alternative accommodation arrangements  and I would like thank those who went out of their way to open up and make their facilities in the Ballycolman available. Thankfully these were not required but the hardship and disruption caused to local residents cannot be underestimated.

“Local people are in no doubt that last night’s hoax was the work of an individual or individuals belonging to a small unrepresentative anti-social element who have been behind  a long litany of other such recent incidents in the area and who appear to derive some kind of ‘twisted pleasure’’ from torturing the community of this area.