The PSNI has said that a device, found at Annadale Embankment in south Belfast on Tuesday, was a bomb and was "viable".

The news came after nearby roads were closed off early today when the suspect object was discovered.

Army technical officers were called to the scene at about 1.30am and while no homes were evacuated road closures were put in place from Mornington Place to Wellington Square, in modern housing on the site of the former Annadale Grammar School.

The police have since said the device, which was attached to a stile at the top of a path leading to the Lagan, may have been a trap to lure officers into a bomb attack.

This deadly plan may have been foiled by the use of the PSNI helicopter that can monitor signs of disturbance to the terrain from overhead, while police officers on the ground moved in very carefully.

Superintendent Chris Noble said today that they had received a call from a man on a mobile phone at around 11.50pm on Monday night to say a woman was in distress in a wooded area of the Annadale Embankment.

No woman was found by police who attended the scene, however, a device was discovered attached to a gate.

"Serious injury and death, not just to the police officers who were responding to a 999 call about a woman in distress, but also serious injury and death to a number of potential runners in the area, to people who could have been walking dogs, who regularly go through the wooded area, and indeed, that gate," commented the PSNI officer.

Diversions were still in place at the Ormeau Road/Annadale Embankment junction and also at the Annadale Embankment/Governor's Bridge junction late this afternoon.

South Belfast DUP Assembly candidates Ruth Patterson and Jimmy Spratt have condemned those responsible.

The Acting Chairman of the NI Policing Board, Brian Rea, has urged community vigilance after the discovery of the apparent booby trap device.

He said: "These police officers were responding to a call for assistance and it is simply fortuitous that this device did not detonate.

"Whilst it is believed the target was police, given the location, this could easily have been detonated by a member of the public passing through. With the people responsible for leaving this and other devices showing complete recklessness, there is a need for community vigilance and support for police at this time.

"The device was placed in a busy area so if anyone noticed anything suspicious then that information should be brought to the police," he urged.

NI Policing Board member and DUP politician, Jimmy Spratt said: "Those responsible are the lowest of the low and should be utterly condemned.

"Officers arrived at this scene expecting to be coming to the aid of a vulnerable woman in distress.

"Instead there was a viable explosive device designed to kill them.

"Terrorists were trying to use police officers commitment to serve the community to lead them to their deaths. These are the actions of cowards," he said.

Party colleague, Ruth Patterson said: "These people have nothing to offer anyone.

"This incident is a reminder of Northern Ireland's bad old days but the people are determined that we will not go back.

"Northern Ireland is moving forward and will do so despite the murderous intentions of these mindless thugs. Anyone with any information should provide it at once to the police so those responsible can be put before the courts."

NI Policing Board member, Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey, the outgoing MLA for South Belfast, has also condemned those responsible.

"This alert has done nothing but cause untold disruption to the daily lives of people living in the area.

"Those responsible have put countless lives at risk in what can only be described as a reckless and futile exercise. They continue to offer no rational for these futile attacks.

"The community continue to reject them and they should stop what they are doing before someone else does lose their lives," he fumed.

(BMcC/GK)