A PRISON officer in Northern Ireland required surgery yesterday after a bomb went off under his van as he was driving to work.

Dissident republicans were blamed for the attack in the Hillsborough Drive area, off Woodstock Road in loyalist east Belfast.

It appeared that the bomb had been put under the vehicle before the father of three left home in the morning.

The officer, reportedly a trainer in Hydebank young offenders institution, suffered serious leg injuries but was said to be in a stable condition in hospital.

Trade unionists and politicians condemned the attack.

The Prison Officers Association condemned the “cowardly and disgraceful attack.”

Communist Party of Ireland executive committee member Joe Bowers said: “These are acts of people who have nothing to offer. The have no political programme.

“You can only conclude that their acts are designed to divide our people and to increase the the difficulties that anyone with a modicum of political sense understands we have to address.”

Sinn Fein MLA Martin McGuinness called the bombing “a futile and despicable act carried out by those opposed to the peace process.”

The Northern Ireland committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions also condemned the “sordid and reckless” attack.

Assistant general secretary Peter Bunting said: “This is a person who is dedicated to helping the most despised and marginalised young people escape from a future of crime and confinement. The perpetrators of this deed must stop now.”