Omagh trial told of bomb warnings

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Details of telephone bomb warnings have been given - and a 999 call played - at the Omagh bomb trial.

Belfast Crown Court also heard about a call after the bombing in which someone claiming to be involved said they never meant to kill civilians.

Sean Hoey, 37, from Jonesborough in south Armagh denies involvement in a series of bombings in 1998.

Telephone warnings were made before many of those attacks including at Lisburn, Banbridge, Armagh and Omagh.

The calls were made to various organisations - including the police and the Samaritans.

On Thursday, the court heard statements made by the people who received them.

And a 999 call made by a newsroom employee to the police detailing a warning less than an hour before the Omagh atrocity was itself played to the courtroom.

A journalist also revealed that he was called in the days after the attack by a man claiming to have been involved in it.

He said that he regretted that civilians had been killed - and that they never meant for that to happen.

Witness evidence about the clear-up operation following the Omagh bombing was also given.

One said that around 30 tonnes of rubble had been gathered in wheelie bins and skips in the days after the explosion.

Mr Hoey denies all 58 charges that he faces, including murdering 29 people in Omagh.

The trial continues.