Residents of nearby homes were evacuated as the police and army retrieved the arsenal from Hawthorn Street in the city's west.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman said: "These weapons systems are clearly intended to kill and we should be in no doubt that the recovery of these items has saved lives."

A 1998 peace agreement brought an end to three decades of sectarian violence between Protestants and Catholics, who want a united Ireland, but sporadic bomb threats and murders by dissident republicans continue.