'TERRIFYING'
Salisbury poisoning survivor DS Nick Bailey recounts ‘terrifying hallucinations and vomiting’ after Novichok attack
THE police officer poisoned by the deadly nerve agent, novichok, has described having its "terrifying" side effects including "hallucinations and vomiting".
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was left in critical care after being poisoned by the nerve agent in 2018 as he investigated the assassination attempt of Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury.
He opened up on Good Morning Britain today about what it felt like to have the deadly poison coursing through his system.
DS Bailey explained: "The Novichok itself, there were fairly acute symptoms quite early on, but it affected me at a slower rate.
"It sounds foolish, but I put it down to exhaustion and migraines because at that time, we had no idea what we were dealing with and you couldn’t even begin to comprehend it would be something like a nerve agent.
"It just evolved from there. The drugs I was put on at the hospital had side effects as well and it’s quite difficult to differentiate between the Novichok and the drugs I was on.
"I had hallucinations and vomiting. It was terrifying."
The detective also revealed the attack left his family picking up the pieces even almost two years on.
He revealed: "I have been left and my family to pick up the pieces.
"It's been really, really tough and I'm not embarrassed to say I've suffered with depression and trying to sort myself out and climb out of the hole I feel like I've been in."
He is now hoping to return to work on Monday - the third time he has made the move as he continues to struggle with the trauma from the attack.
In 2018, DS Bailey sped to help Mr Skripal and his daughter following a nerve agent attack in Salisbury.
The ex-KGB spy and his daughter Yulia, 34, collapsed while out in Salisbury on Sunday, March 4, 2018.
They were found slumped on a bench in a "catatonic state".
It was revealed that the pair had been victims of a nerve agent attack, which was later confirmed as being novichok.
After further investigation, it was discovered that the nerve agent had been administered to the property's door handle, and that DS Bailey had become contaminated during his investigation of the house.
Dawn Sturgess died after she and her boyfriend Charlie Rowley were exposed to the same Novichok nerve agent.
The two Russians accused of carrying out the attack, were seen visiting Salisbury at the time gave the now infamous interview claiming they had been in the area to visit the famous "123-metre spire".
A chilling three-part TV series called The Salisbury Poisionings tells the story of what happened and is coming to BBC One on June 14.
Rafe Spall plays DS Bailey, who joined the police force in 2002.
The star-studded BBC1 drama The Salisbury Poisonings reveals just how close the nerve agent came to killing thousands more — and the untold stories of the everyday heroes in the local emergency response who helped contain it.
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The hour-long episodes will be shown across three consecutive nights on June 14, 15 and 16.
All three episodes will also be available to watch on after they have been shown on TV.
The show features an impressive cast, including a host of British stars such as Sex Education actress Anne-Marie Duff, Downtown Abbey's MyAnna Buring and Game of Thrones actor Mark Addy.
Poisoned policeman admits parents 'weren't happy' about BBC’s Novichok drama The Salisbury Poisonings
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