Novichok fears for cop in hospital
A police officer was in hospital last night amid fears he has been poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok.
The officer, believed to be with Wiltshire Police, was being treated at Salisbury District Hospital, a short distance from Amesbury, where two people fell ill last Saturday.
Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, remain in a critical condition after exposure to Novichok by handling a contaminated item.
It is believed the officer initially attended Great Western Hospital in Swindon before being transferred to Salisbury.
The force are dealing with the second major investigation involving the nerve agent this year, after the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March.
Forensic investigators are continuing to comb for clues in Wiltshire after the latest poisonings.
Experts in protective clothing have been in the assisted-living accommodation in Salisbury where Dawn lives.
Other sites visited by the couple in the lead-up to their hospitalisation are also being looked at.
Novichok remains highly toxic for a considerable period of time, so even the tiniest trace remaining in a container picked up by the victims could account for their severe illness.
A Salisbury District Hospital spokesperson said: “There is nothing to suggest there is any wider risk to anyone at the hospital.”