The public inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, who died in the Novichok poisonings, is set to open on Monday, as nearby shop owners recalled the terrifying aftermath of the Salisbury attacks.
Ms Sturgess, 44, was killed after coming into contact with the Russian-engineered nerve agent, which was present on a discarded perfume bottle, in Amesbury in July 2018.
The 44-year-old’s contact with Novichok followed the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, who were poisoned in nearby Salisbury in March that year. Police officer Nick Bailey also fell ill after becoming exposed to the chemical.
They were poisoned when members of a Russian military intelligence squad are believed to have smeared the nerve agent on Mr Skripal’s door handle.
All three survived, as did Ms Sturgess’s boyfriend Charlie Rowley, who had unwittingly given her the bottle containing the killer chemical weapon.
Ahead of the inquiry, which will sit all week in Salisbury, local business owners recalled the confusion surrounding the attack after it unfolded, with one telling the Salisbury Journal: “They didn’t know what it was – no one knew how bad it was. They said if we touched it, we would be dead.”
