Work began yesterday to remove the security barriers outside Derry's RUC headquarters at Strand Road.
The barriers were erected in November of last year following an unsuccessful attempt by the so-called Continuity IRA to explode a 400 lb car bomb outside the base. An RUC spokesman said yesterday that the barriers, which blocked Strand Road, one of the main routes into Derry's city centre, would take one week to clear. The move has been welcomed by several trading organisations in Derry as well as by retailers within the sealed off area who claimed a significant loss in trade after the barriers were erected.