Police hunt for masked brunette in spy probe

Village put into lockdown over fears of toxin traces on Russian’s car

A MASKED woman was seen acting suspiciously an hour before a former spy and his daughter were found collapsed in the English city of Salisbury.

The dark-haired woman was spotted wearing a black face mask as she left a Pret a Manger sandwich shop, a threeminute walk from where Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were later found convulsing and vomiting.

At the time the pair, who are still in a critical condition in hospital, were thought to be in Salisbury’s Mill pub a few yards away.

Yesterday chemical warfare experts locked down a nearby village amid fears that Mr Skripal’s car could contain traces of the nerve agent that has left him fighting for his life.

Army and police vehicles and ambulances rolled into West Winterslow, 8km from Salisbury, just after lunchtime before investigators in hazardous materials suits and gas masks loaded a transit van on to a flatbed truck. The van’s driver was asked to hand over his clothes, it was claimed.

The mysterious masked woman had been carrying a large bag, according to Mark Francis, a car dealer, who reported the incident to police on Wednesday.

Counter-terror police haven’t yet released images of any potential suspects despite claims the centre of the city is covered by a new high-definition CCTV system.

Mr Francis said he initially thought nothing of the black mask, which is of the type that became a familiar sight after the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) in 2002.

But after it was revealed that nerve agents were used in the assassination attempt, he reported what he had seen.

Mr Francis, 50, said: ‘We were in the town centre in Pret a Manger. We were in there at 3.35pm and I was sitting by the door and this lady walked out at 3.40pm.

‘She was wearing a Sars mask, a black Sars mask tucked around her chin and a bag in her hand.

‘It was really odd as you don’t often see someone wearing a Sars mask in Salisbury. We don’t get smog or pollution. When it became a chemical attack it sounded more likely that it could be significant.

‘She had dark hair, a single woman.’

On Sunday it was reported that a witness told police that an hour before the couple collapsed he saw a ‘man in a mask’ with his hood up acting suspiciously nearby. The witness said: ‘He looked threatening and aggressive and he was walking towards us with purpose. He gave me a stern look as he passed us by about 100 yards from the bench where they found the Russians.’

‘She was wearing a Sars mask’