'LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME'
Hero nerve agent cop leaves hospital after ‘surreal’ Skripal spy poisoning left him fighting for life
A POLICE officer left in a critical condition after the Salisbury nerve agent attack has today left hospital — telling of his "surreal" poison ordeal.
Det Sgt Nick Bailey says "life will never be the same" after he was struck down with deadly chemical novichok while rushing to the aid of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal.
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Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, are still in hospital fighting for their lives after the nerve agent attack in Salisbury on March 4.
But DS Bailey made a miracle recovery and his release from care was announced on the steps of Salisbury District tonight.
He said he has been "overwhelmed" by the support he received from friends, colleagues and the public.
In a statement read by Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Kier Pritchard, the hero cop said that he has found the experience "completely surreal" — adding: "I'm just a normal person with a normal life".
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DS Bailey said: "People ask me how I am feeling – but there are really no words to explain how I feel right now.
"Surreal is the word that keeps cropping up - and it really has been completely surreal.
“I have been so very overwhelmed by the support, cards and messages I have received - everyone has been so incredible.
"One thing that has lifted me throughout the last few weeks has been the public support the police service has received during this incident.
"All the stories of community spirit - from the local businesses providing food and hot drinks to the officers standing for endless hours on the cordons, to the members of the public just showing their support for our work - have been quite simply overwhelming to hear about.
"I want people to focus on the investigation - not the police officer who was unfortunate enough to be caught up in it."
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Sarah Bailey, Nick's wife, said: "This has quite simply been the most traumatic event of our life and it feels like our world has been turned upside down in a really short space of time.
“I am so grateful for the support from our immediate family and friends and the police family liaison officers through this last few weeks – I really don’t know how I would have coped without them."
She added: "Nick doesn’t like the term hero, but he has always been a hero to me and our children.”
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The Wiltshire cop was visited by PM Theresa May and Home Secretary Amber Rudd while in hospital receiving treatment.
He was praised by his Chief Constable as "a great character, a huge presence in Wiltshire Police - well liked well loved".
Fears were raised DS Bailey had brought the deadly chemical home with him after troops swooped on Alderholt in Dorset last week.
Skripal and Yulia, 33, were found slumped on a bench in a catatonic state and anti-terror police are investigating CCTV believed to show the father and daughter before the poisoning.
Cops have estimated timeline of the pair's movements, revealing that they had not been seen between 9.15am and 1.30pm on March 4.
They then resurfaced at a Sainsbury's upper level car park, going on to dine at Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury.
The timeline appears to back up the suggestion the father and daughter visited the graves of their family the morning they were poisoned.
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Police also released new image of Sergei's burgundy BMW 320D saloon as part of their counter terror investigation into the attack, with fears that that Russian and his daughter Yulia were poisoned after a toxic substance was smeared on the door handle.
The Sun on Sunday revealed that Yulia’s boyfriend was a Russian secret service agent and that she had worked in the US Embassy in Moscow.
The revelation came days after Scotland Yard announced a murder investigation into the death of Putin enemy Nikolai Glushkov, found strangled in his South London home.
BMW of Russian spy Sergei Skripal targeted in Salisbury nerve agent attack loaded onto container
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