Schoolboy carries bomb into Northern Ireland classroom

An eight-year-old boy risked serious injury when he picked up a pipe bomb in a school playground in Antrim. Brendan Shannon, 8, from St Comgall's Primary School lifted what police confirmed was a viable device and brought it into the classroom. Police were called and 400 children were moved from the school on Ballymena Road to a nearby church hall.

Brendan Shannon said he found what looked like a "golden pipe thing" in the playground at St Comgall's when he arrived for school. "I just got off my bike and just touched it to see if it was okay," he said. "Then I just lifted it up."

Brendan's father, Gerard, said the consequences could have been very serious. "I was very worried and very scared when I heard that my son had gone out into the playground, saw something and lifted it up. I am trying not to think of what the consequences could have been."

St Comgall's headteacher Hilary Cush said he was outraged that an explosive device should be left for children to find. "It's absolutely crazy. It's unbelievable that innocent children should be caught up in something like this," he said.