An investigation has been launched after a group of children found a viable pipe bomb in Cork yesterday evening.

The children who ranged in age from 6 to 12-years-old are understood to have played with the device before handing it over to their parents.

The incident happened around 5:10pm yesterday evening when a group of children found the pipe bomb while playing on a communal area at Churchfield Avenue on the north-side of the city.

As many as eight children passed the device around before alerting their parents who also handled the device. One of the parents, not knowing what the device was, decided to bring it to the gardai and put it in the boot of his car.

When he arrived at Gurranebraher Garda Station gardai evacuated the station and notified the army bomb disposal team, who came to the scene and examined the device.

They made safe the device on the station grounds and it has been sent to Dublin for analysis.

Gardai say it was very fortunate that nobody was injured during the incident. They are appealing for anyone with information to contact Gurranabrahar garda station.