There was widespread anger last night following the discovery of a massive 300lb bomb in an abandoned car near homes and schools in a small Co Down town.

The discovery was made on Saturday, five days after police had received a vague telephone warning that a viable device had been planted in the Castlewellan area.

Dissident republicans are being blamed for planting the bomb, which police said put the lives of “every man, woman and child” in the area at risk.

Following a search of the village on Tuesday, security forces found an abandoned black Volkswagen Bora along the Dublin Road near Burrenbridge.

After an initial assessment was made, full security procedures — including the closure of all roads in the immediate area — were put in place, causing major disruption in the picturesque village. The device was finally uncovered on Saturday. However police remained in the area all weekend.

Last night local Sinn Fein representative Willie Clarke condemned those responsible and made a direct appeal to them to “end their campaign”.

“I think this was a reckless action and serves no political purpose and I appeal to those who made and placed this bomb to end their campaign. I particularly want to appeal to young people to walk away from these organisations and join the rest of us.”

PSNI Superintendent Greg Blain described those responsible as “terrorists” who showed a “callous disregard” for the lives of the people around them and who were trying to “drag everyone back to the dark days of the past”.

“The people who carried this out showed a callous disregard for the lives of everyone in our community,” he said. “They planted a large viable device in a car, abandoned it in an area close to local houses and schools, and then phoned through vague warnings about the locality and nature of the threat.

“They placed the lives of every man, woman and child in the area at risk and simply have nothing to offer society.

“Those who operate under various flags of convenience are simply terrorists and criminals who wish to drag everyone back to the dark days of the past by using violence as a so-called political tool.”

SDLP South Down MLA Margaret Ritchie said those who left the 300-pound car bomb deserved “nothing but contempt from the community”.

She said: “This was a large device even by the standards of the past but those who planted it should be in absolutely no doubt — we are not going back to the past even if they are locked in it. They need to realise that times have changed, that we have an accountable policing service and we will back it to the hilt against those who would bring danger into our midst in such a reckless way.”

Supt Blain appealed for anyone who has any information about a black VW Bora that was in the area of the Dublin Road and Burrenreagh Road, Castlewellan on the morning of Tuesday, January 27 to contact PSNI Serious Crime Branch on 028 9056 1880.