Pipe bomb found in Crossgar alert

31 July 2011 Last updated at 08:46 GMT Police cordoned off an area of Crossgar on Saturday morning A pipe bomb has been discovered in a County Down village after a security alert on Saturday.

People living near the scene of the alert at Drumnaconagher Road, Crossgar, were asked to leave their homes after a suspicious object was found.

Army bomb experts carried out a controlled explosion and confirmed it was a pipe bomb.

Meanwhile, the Army removed a suspected firearm at Blackstown Road in Crumlin on Friday evening.

A police spokesperson said the item was found wrapped in bed linen.

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New butterfly species found in NI

14 July 2011 Last updated at 17:53 GMT The cryptic wood white butterflies have previously been unknown to scientists A new species of butterfly has been found in Northern Ireland.

The cryptic wood white butterfly was completely unknown to scientists until its discovery.

Experts originally believed it was an existing rare and endangered breed found in English woodlands in summer.

However, it has many more chromosomes and is genetically 70,000 years old - much older than those similar in appearance in England.

Catherine Bertand from the Butterfly Conservation in Northern Ireland described the butterflies as "very delicate, pretty little things".

"Unfortunately people can't rush out and see them because they fly in springtime and have now finished for this year," she said.

"Scientists have worked very hard to prove the Irish one is different from the one you find in Britain.

"They looked at it with microscope and they discovered that the butterflies are different enough that they can't breed with one another, even though they look exactly the same."

Ms Bertand said one of the best places to view them next year will be at Craigavon Lakes nature reserve.

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