What a small bomb can do to a car - Bomb Squad warning

The Army Bomb Disposal Squad carried out a demonstration last week on explosives as a training exercise for emergency services.

The controlled operation in the Wicklow mountains showed the before and after effects of a small bomb on a hatchback car.

If you look closely, you can see one of the vehicle's wheels catapulted several feet into the air with the impact of the blast.

The Army Bomb Disposal Unit is often called to deal with unexploded pipe bombs left behind by organised criminal gangs or dissidents.

The Army warned that if a member of the public comes across a suspicious item, they should stay a safe distance back, inform the Gardaí and wait for their assessment.

The Gardaí will request Defence Forces assistance if required.

While the vast majority of people will go through life without ever coming across such a device, vigilance is needed.

There have been 38 call outs for the Army Bomb Disposal unit so far this year. In 2015 there was 145, although this was down from previous years such as 2013 where there was 250 call outs to 80 viable devices.

Many call outs are for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) or homemade bombs, often left by paramilitary or criminal elements, with little or no concern for the wider public.

A viable IED, of which there have been 8 so far this year, is defined as having 'the potential to cause serious injury or death.'

The Defence Forces said that bombs do not discriminate in their victims and this is occasionally lost in the statistics.

A spokesman added: "For every one of those call outs, there was an immediate danger caused to a community, to the Gardaí that had to assess the scene and to the Army Bomb Disposal team that had to render the device safe."