Children lucky escape from blast

3 June 2011 Last updated at 09:46 GMT Several properties were damaged when the bomb exploded late on Thursday evening

A senior police officer said children had a lucky escape after an explosion in the Brandywell area of Londonderry.

It happened on the Lecky Road just after 2300 BST on Thursday.

Police said damage was caused to properties, but no one was injured.

Chief Inspector Jon Burrows condemned the attack. "These explosive devices, no matter how small they are, can maim and kill and we're fortunate this morning that no one was injured

He said police were investigating what happened and "detectives are piecing together a timeline and trying to establish a motive, and we'll be talking to witnesses".

Mr Burrows said the bombers showed no regard for the community.

Traumatised

"Young children getting a night's sleep before going to school and people who were last night sleeping before they had to go to work were literally put at risk.

"They will feel that trauma for the days and weeks to come so the people who leave these devices and walk into people's homes and threaten them don't care for the local community who suffer most in all of this," he said.

Foyle MLA Martina Anderson visited the scene on Thursday evening.

She said that she was amazed nobody was hurt in the attack and said it was unclear who or what was the target.

"There was shrapnel that went in through the window of a bedroom," she said.

"In that bedroom, thankfully, there was no one asleep at the time.

"However in the adjacent window there was a two-year-old baby in a cot and had the shrapnel went through that window, that family at this moment in time are devastated thinking about what could have happened."

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'Lucky' Miliband marries partner Justine

27 May 2011 Last updated at 13:10 GMT Ed Miliband and his new wife Justine

Labour leader Ed Miliband has married long-term partner Justine Thornton in a private ceremony in Nottinghamshire.

The civil ceremony took place in a luxury hotel attended by about 50 guests, including his brother David.

Mr Miliband met Ms Thornton, an environmental lawyer, in 2005 and they were engaged in March.

Before the wedding, Mr Miliband said he felt like "the luckiest guy in the world" and he was "really looking forward" to the nuptials.

'Great day'

After tying the knot in the Langar Hall country hotel near Nottingham, at a ceremony attended by family members and friends, the couple posted for pictures outside the venue.

Ms Thornton wore an ivory, empire line dress designed by Temperley while Mr Miliband wore a slate grey suit from Aquascutum.

The 25-minute ceremony included readings from Louis de Bernieres' best-selling novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin and I Carry Your Heart With Me, a poem by the American writer EE Cummings and a variety of music.

The couple used traditional wedding vows although they omitted the promise to "obey".

Following the ceremony Mr Miliband's brother, former foreign secretary David Miliband, wrote on Twitter: "Great day for Ed and Justine. They look very happy - congratulations from all the Milibands."

The Labour leader, 41, has broken with the tradition of having a best man and both he and Ms Thornton are giving speeches at the reception.

Instead of buying presents, they suggested guests give donations to children's charity Barnardo's and to Methodist Homes for the Aged.

'Right time'

Mr Miliband had faced questions about his status as an unmarried father after becoming opposition leader last September.

He told interviewers marriage was "a very important institution" but asked whether he felt it would be important, were he to become prime minister, he said he felt people were "pretty relaxed" about the issue.

But it emerged in March he had proposed last year and he told his local paper it was the "right time" for the couple to tie the knot.

Ahead of the ceremony on Friday, Mr Miliband wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter: "Thanks for all the good wishes. Really looking forward to the day. Feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be marrying Justine."

The couple are due to take a five-day honeymoon in an undisclosed location.

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