¬Public urged ¬Uniforms at to scrub clothes Zizzi destroyed

PANIC gripped a city last night as 500 people possibly exposed to a nerve agent were told to scrub their clothes.

The warning went out to anyone who was in a restaurant and The Mill pub visited by poisoned spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

They were advised to immediately wash everything they were wearing plus bags, phones and glasses.

Gadgets, jewellery and watches were to be cleaned with baby wipes. The father and daughter were still critically ill last night as 250 counter-terrorism officers were hunting the source of the substance traces found on their table at the Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury, Wilts.

Staff working at the eaterie had their uniforms burned and the table was destroyed.

But it was only yesterday customers were told to wash their belongings.

Mum-of-two Sarah Walker, 36, said: “People are trying to remain calm but it’s been very unsettling.”

Another resident asked an internet forum: “Why has it taken so long to tell everyone the danger?

“They could have been walking round contaminated for a week without knowing. It’s absurd.” Another wrote: “Madness.”

A total of 21 people were hospitalised after the attack on Sergei and his daughter who were found collapsed on a bench in a shopping centre.

The pair – and Det Sgt Nick Bailey, 38, who dashed to help them – are the only ones still in hospital. Chief