UH/1810

Driver in bomb alert apology
BY NIGEL MCDONAGH

THE SECURITY operation that led to a seven-hour bomb scare which caused massive disruption in Omagh two weeks ago has been slammed as "amateurish", after the man whose car sparked the alert claimed that police could have established the ownership of his vehicle within minutes.
Brian McEmroe, the owner of the vehicle, has apologised to the businesses in Omagh which lost thousands of pounds in revenue due to being closed for at least four hours during the bomb alert.
But Mr McEmroe is adamant that the PSNI could easily have avoided the disruption and the £2,500 damage caused to his car by checking details of an insurance disc which was clearly visible on the front windscreen.
A local councillor has also questioned the presence of a police car which he saw parked right beside the suspect vehicle during the early stages of the bomb alert.
"I was driving through Omagh at around 7am on the morning of the alert and saw a police car parked beside the suspect vehicle which was cordoned off. Its doors were open and policemen where inside. I found it strange they were so close to the vehicle if they felt it might contain a bomb," said Paddy McGowan, an Independent councillor in Omagh Town.
The full scale bomb alert caused massive disruption to businesses and shoppers in Omagh town centre when Market Street and High Street were sealed off for at least six hours while British Army bomb disposal experts examined the vehicle on the morning of Thursday, July 28.
Police said the alert resulted from an anonymous bomb warning to the Metropolitan Police in London.
However, following a number of controlled explosions by the British Army, the PSNI declared the incident a "false alarm" after it emerged that the vehicle belonged to Brian McEmroe who had left his car in the town before spending time in a local pub the night before the alert. Mr McEmroe was in the process of moving to Omagh from the Republic of Ireland and was staying in a local hostel with his family while the alert was taking place.
Speaking to the UlsterHerald this week, Mr McEmroe said he received the "shock of his life" when he discovered his vehicle was at the centre of a major bomb alert when he returned to High Street to pick it up.
He said, "I was with my family and we were stopped at the end of Bridge Street and told by the police there was a suspect vehicle causing a bomb alert. It was an awful shock to the system and my two kids were absolutely terrified. I'd left the car there the night before because we were having a few drinks in town before getting a taxi home."
The controlled explosions severely damaged Mr McEmroe's car and the contents of his boot, which included a Playstation 2 console and games.
However, Mr McEmroe maintains that an insurance disc on the front windscreen of the vehicle would have enabled the police to establish within minutes that he owned the car.
"I just don't understand why that bomb scare went on for as long as it did and why they had to blow up my car," he said. "If the police had checked out the insurance disc, they would have quickly been put in contact with my parents who would have told them who I was and why I was in Omagh."
Mr McEmroe added, "In fact, my parents were only contacted after the alert was over."
Mr McEmroe who is seeking compensation for the damage caused to his car said he is "very annoyed" at the incident, particularly for the disruption it caused to the businesses affected.
He said, "I would like to apologise to the businesses in Omagh which lost money because my car caused a scare. I didn't mean to cause such an obstruction bu I do believe it could have been avoided."
The police operation had been described as "amateurish" by local councillor Paddy McGowan.
"The car should not have been left there overnight by the owner, the entire security operation struck me as amateurish and very strange. Surely the Gardai could have helped identify this man? I can't understand why it was so difficult to establish who owned the car." he said.
A spokesman for the PSNI has reiterated that "every effort was made" to locate Mr McEmroe.
He said, " We did make a lot of effort to get hold of this man and we did work with the Gardai. In fact , Garda officers went round to the address that the car was registered under. However, all of these efforts were unsuccessful and we just couldn't take any chances with the car.