Girl (4) escapes Belfast pipe-bomb attack

A four-year-old girl escaped serious injury in Belfast today after discovering a pipe-bomb near her home.

The girl brought the device to her mother who placed it in the front garden of their Springfield Road home in West Belfast.

Part of the area was evacuated while British army bomb disposal experts made the device safe. It is now being forensically examined.

Acting RUC Superintendent Russell Martin described the incident as "a completely deplorable and reckless act".

He appealed to "those with influence in all sections of the community to encourage restraint."

There have been more than 50 pipe bomb and gun attacks on nationalist homes by loyalists since the New Year.

The UDA and other loyalist paramilitaries have been accused of orchestrating the attacks.

Sinn Féin councillor Mr Tom Hartley blamed the UDA for today's incident and said the family was fortunate not to be mourning the death of the girl.

"We are lucky it did not kill or maim the child but I think it shows the attitude of the people behind such attacks towards the Catholic population that they leave a device like this hanging around," he said.

"These attacks are all about the negotiations that are talking place and the peace process and they are designed to plunge society into a sectarian morass."

additional reporting PA