Alert ends at mullingar garda station

 

The alert surrounding a War of Independence grenade which was brought to Mullingar Garda Station this morning, has ended without incident.

The device, a Mills 36 make, had been found in the rear garden of a house in Newtown Lawns this morning and the householder transported it to Mullingar Garda Station in the boot of his car.

Officers immediately alerted the Defence Forces and an Explosives Ordnance Disposal team was despatched to Mullingar. The area around the Garda Station was sealed off and people, including hundreds of pupils attending two nearby schools were directed away from the area.

The house in Newtown Lawns was also sealed off and residents were evacuated for a time.

The EOD team arrived just before 2pm and an officer approached the vehicle and removed the grenade, placing it in a sealed unit, before taking it away for safe disposal.

Meanwhile, gardaí carried out a search of the back garden of the house in Newtown Lawns and were satisfied that no other devices were present.

The alert ended just before 3pm.