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NOVICHOK 'CRACK DEN'

Novichok victims Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley ‘picked up the nerve agent vial from a park drug den’

NOVICHOK victims Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley picked up the nerve agent vial from a park drug den, a neighbour says.

Tom Ricks said dealers often placed stashes in their crack hideout at Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

 Dawn Sturgess is fighting for her life in hospital after coming in contact with Novichok
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Dawn Sturgess is fighting for her life in hospital after coming in contact with Novichok

He believes Dawn, 44, and Charlie, 45 — both fighting for their lives — went to the park and picked up a package contaminated with the poison before taking it home.

Mechanic Tom, 31, said: “I think it already had Novichok on it.

"That or they picked up the Novichok container from the same spot. It is terrifying.”

Forensic investigators in protective suits yesterday continued to scour potentially contaminated sites, including Charlie’s flat above Tom’s in Amesbury, near Salisbury, where the couple fell ill last weekend.

 Charlie Rowley also came into contact with the nerve agent after reportedly picking it up from a park
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Charlie Rowley also came into contact with the nerve agent after reportedly picking it up from a park
 A neighbour says the pair picked up the novichok from a park drug den
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A neighbour says the pair picked up the novichok from a park drug denCredit: AFP or licensors
Investigators in hazmat suits enter home of Novichok victim Dawn Sturgess in Salisbury
 Police continue their investigation as they surround the outside of the John Baker House Sanctuary Supported Living in Salisbury
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Police continue their investigation as they surround the outside of the John Baker House Sanctuary Supported Living in SalisburyCredit: AFP or licensors
 A cordon has been put up around a residential home
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A cordon has been put up around a residential homeCredit: AFP or licensors

Russian '2nd hit'

A CHEMICAL weapons expert fears the Russians could have been hoping to cause “collateral damage”.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon is certain the Novichok was from the Skripal attack.

The retired Army officer said the attackers could have thrown away the container “hoping for a second hit”.

Dawn’s mother Caroline is said to have told pals she fears her “lost soul” daughter is being denied the same care as poisoned Russians Sergei and Yulia Skripal as she is a “nobody alcoholic”.

Queen Elizabeth Gardens is a known spot for boozers and drug users and is a five-minute walk from where the Skripals were found after being poisoned by Novichok on March 4.

Dawn may be brain damaged after she was starved of oxygen for 30 minutes, her son Ewen said. He added: “They said she had the same symptoms as the Skripals.

“I told her, ‘I love you, mum. I just want you to wake up and get better’.

A cop from Salisbury who feared he had Novichok symptoms was examined and given the all-clear last night.

Novichok victim Dawn Sturgess captured on CCTV buying alcohol just over 24 hours before she was taken into intensive care in Salisbury



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