A security alert at a caravan site in the seaside town of Millisle in County Down is continuing this morning, police have said.

In a statement, police confirmed access in or out of Seaview Caravan Park on the Ards Peninsula remains restricted and the public are being asked to avoid the area.

This comes after police received a report of a suspicious device left in a field near the site on Friday.

A number of homes have also been evacuated.

On Friday night, two women standing at the entrance of the holiday park told BBC News NI they arrived about 18:00 BST to stay in a relative’s caravan and were told by police they could not go in.

Candice Bunting and Shelley Ritchie, along with two eight-year-olds and a nine-year-old, said: “We’re freezing and soaked.”

They said their belongings had been left to the caravan by a relative earlier so they “literally have the clothes we stand in”

“The kids are tired and hungry,” they said.

They had been offered refreshments and somewhere to shelter from the rain by local resident Gary Mann, who lives opposite the site.

He said: “I feel sorry for the people arriving here on holidays. It’s not something that usually happens here. It’s not nice to see, especially with the kids being on holiday.”

In a post on social media, Seaview Caravan Park said the police told them “the site will be closed for a few hours”.

“Unfortunately no one is getting in or out,” they added.