A pipe bomb has been defused by British army explosives experts after being found at a pub in the ladies toilets of a bar in the Diamond area of Portstewart on the Derry coast.
RUC chief inspector Nigel Kyle condemned those behind the attack.
It comes two weeks after loyalists abandoned a huge bomb in a car at the Auld Lammas Fair in Ballycastle, Co Antrim.
"This was yet another reckless and indiscriminate attack on a local community," he said.
"Those who planned and carried out the attack showed complete disregard for the lives of residents and visitors to the town."
The SDLP Mayor for the area, Mr John Dallat, hit out at the bombers for trying to tarnish the town's reputation.
He said: "Portstewart is a very peaceful town. It's one of our premier tourist resorts and we certainly could do without this type of attack by people who represent no one but their own evil ways."
PA