A MAJOR security in west Belfast has now ended.

Police evacuated around 100 houses in the Beechmount area as a precaution and sealed off roads.

The alert was sparked after the discovery of a suspicious vehicle in St Mary’s Gardens.

Army technical officers were tasked to the scene to examine a suspicious car.

However, police say nothing untoward was found.

Those evacuated from their houses, who spent several hours in a nearby community, were later allowed to return to their homes.