A suspicious object was found in a hedge on Church Road, forcing Holywood Nursery School pupils to move to Holywood Primary School to continue their day. Older people at a local fold were also forced to evacuate during the alert.
Mayor Andrew Muir said: “I utterly condemn those behind this despicable alert and a similar incident in Lurgan this morning. Their disgraceful actions have led to innocent children, their teachers and older people suffering and will not be tolerated in our society.
“It is extremely worrying that this type of incident has taken place in the heart of Holywood. This is a blatant attempt to intimidate create fear among the local community. Those behind this incident do not represent the community I represent.
“This has created a large amount of stress for local people who are simply trying to get on with their daily lives.
“I would appeal to anyone with information of who was behind this incident to contact the PSNI as soon as possible.”