Increased police patrols over women’s safety concerns

Women have been urged to stay vigilant and police patrols have increased after a bag containing several sinister items were discovered in Coleraine, an MLA has said.

The alleged items found in the rucksack are cable ties, blue surgical gloves, condoms, a change of clothes and a balaclava, Independent assembly member Claire Sugden told BBC’s Nolan Show on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said they seized a bicycle and a bag containing a number of items which were located in the Strand Road area of the town on 13 February.

Ms Sugden said she is also aware of reports of a woman being followed by an individual in the Strand Road area of the town recently.

The police have said their investigation regarding the rucksack and bicycle seizure is ongoing and they “are progressing a number of lines of enquiry”.

They said there has been an increased policing presence in the area, “with officers visibly on enhanced patrols”.

On social media platform X, the PSNI also said that a mobile police station was also deployed in the Strand Road area after “recent posts on social media regarding reports of a suspicious male in the Coleraine area”.