POLICE say a suspicious object found inside a hijacked van was a hoax.

The alert began when the delivery van was hijacked by two men at Fanad Drive in the Creggan area of Derryv on Thursday evening.

The driver had been stopped on the Iniscarn Road at about 8.45 pm and ordered to drive the vehicle to the Diamond where he alerted police.

A number of homes had to be evacuated.

On Tuersday, a lorry was hijacked in the Galliagh area of the city,

The PSNI’s commander for Foyle, Chief Inspector Tony Callaghan, said: “For the second time in 48 hours a security alert has caused a great deal of inconvenience to the people of Derry.

“Yet again a man was going about his normal day-to-day work when he was confronted by masked men and ordered to drive with what he was told was a bomb into the city centre.

“Object found inside van was hoax

“A large number of people had to leave their homes last night because of the misguided actions of the people responsible for this incident.”