The Alliance Party has confirmed that overnight security alerts in Co Antrim involved a hoax device being left at the home of a current party Councillor.
A suspicious object examined in a Portrush security alert has since been declared 'a hoax'.
Police say the object was wrapped in a Pride flag, and that they are treating the incident as a 'hate crime'.
Read more: Suspicious object 'wrapped in a Pride flag' in 'hate crime' declared 'a hoax'
The Alliance Party this morning revealed that the hoax device was left at the home of their newly elected Causeway Councillor Peter McCully.
Officers attended the scene on Thursday night after the discovery in the Hopefield Grove area.
Roads in the area have now reopened and residents who were evacuated have now returned to their homes.
In an update on Friday morning, a PSNI spokesperson said: "A suspicious object examined in the Hopefield Avenue area of Portrush last night has been declared a hoax.
"The object, which was wrapped in a Pride flag, was located after police received a call at around 7.30pm which stated that two devices had been left in the area.
"Police will carry out a further search in the Hopefield Grove area this morning to ensure public safety. Anyone who comes across anything unusual or out of the ordinary in the area is advised not to touch it and to alert police immediately.
"Residents who were evacuated from their homes in Hopefield Avenue while the alert was ongoing have now returned and roads have reopened."
An Alliance spokesperson said: "Alliance can confirm these security alerts involved a hoax device at the home of Councillor Peter McCully and another alert at the home of a former party Councillor.
"We utterly condemn those behind these appalling attacks and call on all other parties to do likewise. Nobody should face this kind of threat when simply doing their job.
"In addition, local residents have been left facing huge disruption due to their irresponsible actions of afew who represent nobody other than themselves.
"This has echoes of both the dark days of our troubled past and more recent times, when homes and offices of Alliance elected representatives were targeted for once again simply doing our job. The addition of a Pride flag adds an extra sinister edge.
"It is clear some are still not getting the message this reckless violence is not welcome in Northern Ireland.
"We urge anyone with information on these incidents to contact police with it immediately."
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