'Cowardly' Derry bank bomb condemned

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Santander bomb
Image caption,
The bomb caused extensive damage to the inside of the bank

A senior police officer has said that those responsible for bombing a bank in Londonderry were "cowards".

Chief Inspector John Burrows has also appealed for information about the attack on a Santander branch in the Diamond at about 1320 BST.

No-one was injured but Mr Burrows said that young children caught up in the original alert were terrified.

Masked men threw a holdall containing the bomb into the bank. Police cleared the area and it exploded an hour later.

Workmen have spent Sunday morning dealing with the extensive damage to the building.

"There were young children who had to be evacuated. People could have been killed when this explosion went off," Chief Inspector Burrows said.

SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan said he was "deeply angered and shocked at this dangerous attack".

NI's First Minister Peter Robinson condemned those responsible and said they had nothing to offer society except "death and destruction".