A number of homes have been evacuated following the discovery of a suspicious device in Devonshire Place in the lower Falls.

Sinn Féin Councillor Tina Black has described the alert as a "selfish act".

Speaking to belfastmedia.com Cllr Black said: "The families are extremely distressed. We are in the middle of a pandemic and people are having to evacuate their homes.

"The current situation makes that all the more complex and the only positive is that the community sector are coming together and have offered to open their doors to the affected residents but it is a tragedy that the families are having to face this at this time," she added. 

A PSNI spokesperson said: "Police are currently in attendance at a security alert in the Devonshire Place area of West Belfast following a report a suspect device had been left in the area. 

"Some residents have left their homes as officers work to keep people safe.

"Police are working with the local Council to arrange suitable accommodation to facilitate residents who have left their homes. 

"A number of cordons are in place. Please follow the direction of police at the scene." 

The incident comes less than twenty four hours after a security alert at the Belfast City Council offices on Adelaide Street was declared as being nothing untoward and reports that devices had been thrown at the Sinn Féin office on the Falls Road and the office of the SDLP Deputy Leader Nichola Mallon on the Antrim Road.