A security alert in Cathedral Road, Armagh is coming to an end.

An army technical officer attended and an exploded viable object has been taken away for further examination.

All roads, apart from a small section of the Cathedral Road, have reopened and evacuated residents are now able to return to their homes.

The PSNI says they received a report of damage caused to four cars at around 7.20am this morning.

Detective Inspector Will Tate said, "on further investigation it was thought that the damage was caused by an explosion. Further reports and investigations since then lead us to believe that the explosion occurred at approximately 12.40am and that the device was left by a person carrying a backpack at approximately 12.30am.

“ATO have described the object as an improvised viable pipe bomb type device. Today we are lucky that we are not dealing with a serious injury caused by this device and the reckless actions of the person or people behind it," he added.

Police are appealing for anybody with information to contact them.