The abandoned bus on Northland Road.
A FEMALE Ulsterbus driver has been hailed a heroine after refusing to transport a bomb to a police station – and getting her vehicle to “as safe a place as possible.”
The quick-thinking driver was told to drive her bus with the device on board to Strand Road barracks.
Instead she drove around a mile from Ballymagroarty to the Northland Road and left the bus there instead.
“Her first priority was to get the bus away from the built-up area around Ballymagroarty,” said one senior PSNI officer.
“She did her very best in very traumatic circumstances and she was badly shaken by the experience. But she did the right thing. She could have saved many lives.
“Those responsible for this incident had no regard for the driver or the effects such an experience can have on someone who is serving her community.”
The alert ended at around 3.20am this morning when residents, who had been moved out of their homes, were allowed to return.
Derry police commander Chief Superintendent Stephen Cargin said while the device was small it was capable of killing or causing serious injury.
There is a great deal of anger in Derry this morning at the latest dissident incident which is causing severe disruption in the city.
Condemning the incident, Transport Minister Danny Kennedy praised the bravery of the driver.
He said: “I want to first praise the bravery of the bus driver who had to deal with this frightening situation. The driver showed immense courage under very difficult circumstances.”
He added: “Attacks on public transport impact the entire community who depend on buses and trains.”
Mayor Martin Reilly it was a “worrying development” that public transport was being “hijacked to transport bombs across the city.”
Deputy Mayor Gary Middleton said every right-thinking person would condemn the incident.
He said: “This is the type of thing we hoped we had left behind. There are so many fantastic things going on in the city right now, but this has the potential to deflect from all of that.”
Sinn Fein councillor Eric McGinley, who visited the scene, said he unreservedly condemned the actions of those responsible while SDLP councillor John Boyle described the incident as “unacceptable” and called on anyone with information to contact the PSNI.
The alert began after 6.00pm when a masked man, who said he was from “the IRA,” boarded the bus in the densely populated Ballymagroarty estate and placed a holdall containing the bomb in the seat directly behind the driver and told her to take it to PSNI headquarters on Strand Road in the city centre.
Up to 10 passengers were on the bus and the time and Translink chiefs have also praised the actions of the driver who, they said, followed procedures by getting passengers off the bus and driving to a safer area.
The driver pulled the vehicle into a bus stop on Northland Road before abandoning it and alerting police.
A number of businesses were forced to close and hundreds of staff evacuated as a result of the alert.
Around 300 workers at the First Source call centre were evacuated and number of businesses in a retail park were also forced to shut including a pharmacy offering a late night service, a convenience store and a fast food takeaway.
A number of residents. including an elderly wheelchair user, were moved out of their homes in Springvale Park and Liscannor Park areas.
The Northland Road was closed between Branch Roundabout and Springtown Road and police advised motorists to avoid the area.
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