Novichok poisoning victim’s home declared safe and returned to owners

Novichok poisoning victim’s home declared safe and returned to owners

The home of one of the victims of the Novichok poisonings has been cleaned by experts and handed back to its owners.

The flat at Muggleton Road in Amesbury, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, was the former residence of Charlie Rowley.

Mr Rowley, 45, was left critically ill and his partner Dawn Sturgess, 44, died in hospital in July after they came into contact with a perfume bottle believed to have been used in the attack three months earlier on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33.

The Skripals survived the attack which Prime Minister Theresa May said had “almost certainly” been approved by the Russian state.

The South Wiltshire Recovery Coordinating Group said the first floor flat had been declared safe by Defra following extensive cleaning and testing by specialist teams and handed back to its owners, Stonewater Housing.

There is now just one remaining site – the home of Mr Skripal at Christie Miller Road in Salisbury – still undergoing decontamination.

Work resumed earlier this month to dismantle and replace the house and garage roofs of the property.

Detectives believe Mr Skripal and his daughter first came into contact with the poison when it was sprayed on the door handle of the house.

Alistair Cunningham, chairman of the South Wiltshire Recovery Coordinating Group, said: “This is positive news for Amesbury and marks a return to normal, as all sites in the town have now been handed back to their owners following specialist cleaning.

“We recognise that there is still work to be done to increase visitor confidence and to continue to support the local community.

“We are working with local and national partners to implement a programme of events and initiatives in both Salisbury and Amesbury to encourage shoppers, visitors and tourists.”

A Defra spokesman added: “The thorough work to decontaminate the site at Muggleton Road, Amesbury, has been successfully completed.

“Following extensive testing, we have declared the site safe and handed it back to Wiltshire Council.

“We are grateful for the residents of Muggleton Road for their understanding while this work has been carried out.”

Two Russian nationals have been accused of travelling to the UK to try to murder Mr Skripal with Novichok.

Evidence gathered by intelligence agencies led the Government to conclude that the men were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU.

The two suspects – known by their aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov – were caught on CCTV in Salisbury the day before the attack.

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