About 20 houses were evacuated last night after the discovery of a suspected bomb in Newcastle West, Co Limerick.

The suspect device was found attached to a car outside a house at Knights Court, Cullenagh, an estate located on the Abbeyfeale Road in the west Limerick town.

A woman living at the house is believed to have contacted gardaí at about 6.10pm and told them she had seen a person placing the device on a car.

Gardaí are still trying to clarify why the car was targeted.

They have ruled out any link to a shooting which occurred in the town earlier this year.

“A woman who is living at the house saw a person putting it on the car,” a garda source said last night.

“There are wires coming off it, so the army were called in. We had to evacuate the whole area. There are about 20 houses in the estate, ” said the source.

An army explosive ordnance disposal unit based in Cork was alerted to deal with the device.