Tributes as nerve-poison victim laid to rest amid safety measures
EMOTIONAL TRIBUTES were paid to Novichok victim Dawn Sturgess as safety precautions were put in place to ensure mourners attending her funeral yesterday did not come into contact with any traces of the nerve agent.
The chapel at Salisbury Crematorium was packed with mourners as people remembered the mother-of-three who died earlier this month, eight days after being poisoned with the nerve agent.
According to Rev Philip Bromiley, who led the service, Ms Sturgess’s daughter told mourners how much she loved her mother and how much her mother loved her, resulting in a round of applause.
Ms Sturgess’s partner Charlie Rowley, 45, was in the front row for the service, which also included a eulogy by her sister Claire.
Among the music played at
the service was James Blunt song Beautiful Dawn, the hymn Shalom Shalom and Fame. Ms Sturgess’s coffin, adorned with floral tributes, was taken into the chapel earlier to give her family some time on their own.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Bromiley said: “There was a sense of celebration, that we wanted to celebrate Dawn’s life.
“As you can imagine there was a lot of mixed emotions and there was obviously still shock, and people were tremendously tearful having lost a loved one, and yet there was a bit of upbeat spirit.”
The funeral directors worked with Public Health England (PHE) and the crematorium to make sure everything was as safe as possible.
Ms Sturgess died at 44 on July 8 after she and Mr Rowley fell ill.
Mr Rowley said the nerve agent took 15 minutes to poison Ms Sturgess after she sprayed a substance onto her wrists believing it was perfume he had found.
It was the second nerve-agent incident in four months following the case of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March, who survived despite being taken seriously ill.