Work of art will replace Skripal toxic bench

The bench on which Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found poisoned is to be replaced by an art installation, council officials have said.

Salisbury’s main city centre shopping area, The Maltings – where the Russian former spy and his daughter were found unconscious – has been closed off since March 4.

When the cordon is lifted, which is expected to be on Friday, it will mark the first major reopening of a site directly linked to the Novichok nerve agent attack.

Alistair Cunningham, the city’s recovery coordinating group chairman, said: “There’s no risk to public health, it’s a simple message. There’s no doubt the site is clean.”