A SECURITY operation was last night under way in Co Down following reports that a body had been left in a farm lane. RUC officers and British soldiers sealed off an area between Hilltown and Mayobridge.
In Newry, families were evacuated from their homes last night as the RUC examined a suspect car in Trevor Hill.
A farmer in Hilltown called police at 8.30 a.m. yesterday after he spotted what appeared to be a body down a laneway off the Carmeen Road. Fearing an elaborate IRA booby trap, the RUC responded cautiously.
It is believed that a full examination of the scene will be carried out today. The security forces used helicopters to fly over the scene.
The body appears to be covered in black plastic. A local youth, Mr Martin Doyle, who walked up to the spot before the RUC cordoned it off, said a cylinder was nearby and wires were running from it to the body.
Mr Boyle said he doubted if it was a real body. "It had a strange appearance for a dead body. It had a thin back and big legs. It just didn't seem right," he said.
Another youth said he thought it was a real body and he said there were bloodstains on the road. The farmer who telephoned the police said he did not think it was a body.