Gardens at centre of nerve agent probe are re-opened
THE gardens which have been at the centre of an investigation into the Novichok poisonings in Salisbury have re-opened to the public.
Police lifted the cordons at Queen Elizabeth Gardens yesterday afternoon after being closed for nearly two months.
The area was cordoned off on July 5 after being confirmed as a location that Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley had visited prior to collapsing.
The pair fell ill at Mr Rowley’s home in Amesbury on June 30 and Ms Sturgess, a mother of three, died in hospital eight days later having never regained consciousness.
It is believed they were exposed to a military grade nerve agent from a perfume bottle discarded by those responsible for the attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
The father and daughter were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury city centre in March having been poisoned by Novichok. They have since been released from hospital.
The attacks caused an international diplomatic incident, with Home Secretary Sajid Javid accusing the Russian state of using Britain as a “dumping ground for poison”. Earlier this month, The Mill public house, where the Skripals had a drink before falling ill, was handed back to its owners after being decontaminated.
Wiltshire Police said it was expected to spend more than £10 million dealing with the Novichok poisonings. Officers from 40 other forces were called in after two major incidents were declared in Salisbury and Amesbury in the space of four months.
Queen Elizabeth Gardens was closed off to allow counter-terrorism officers to carry out their inquiries, while a larger section of the park was closed as a highly precautionary measure, with meticulous and methodical fingertip searches being conducted.
A police water search team also conducted a thorough search of the shallow stream adjacent to the children’s play park and were able to remove a lot of broken glass and other discarded items.
Alistair Cunningham, chairman of the South Wiltshire Recovery Coordinating Group, said: “I am really pleased Queen Elizabeth Gardens, which is a really popular open space in the city centre, has been reopened for community use. Its closure has had an impact on footfall into the city and its reopening is an important and positive step for the city.”