The device was discovered in the laneway

The unexploded device, discovered at a house at Craigadoo Lane, near Ballymena at about 1800 GMT on Thursday, was defused by Army bomb experts.

The girl did not know what it was and carried it into her home, before her 18-year-old brother, who became suspicious, took it back outside.

Police have appealed for information about the attack and have not ruled out a sectarian motive.

Detective inspector Sam Harkness said the pipe bomb was not lit but could still have exploded.

"The vast majority of pipe bombs are unstable and sensitive in their nature," he said.

"They do not have to be initiated, as in they do not have to be lit, for them to actually explode as has happened before within the province.

"This pipe bomb is capable of causing serious injury or indeed killing so this could have been a terrible scenario in Ballymena."

Detectives have also warned the public not to handle any object they don't recognise and to alert the security forces immediately.

SDLP councillor Declan O'Loan said people in the area were concerned.

"It happened out of the blue," he said.

"This pipe bomb was found outside a fairly isolated home of a Catholic family about two miles from the centre of town.