Novichok poisoning: Charlie Rowley's flat to be demolished

Two flats contaminated with deadly nerve agent Novichok in the wake of an attempt on the life of a former Russian spy are to be demolished.

Charlie Rowley fell ill alongside partner Dawn Sturgess at his home in Amesbury, Wiltshire.

His home was eight miles away from Salisbury, where former Soviet spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia were found slumped on a bench in March 2018.

Wiltshire Council said the flats would be replaced by two "affordable" rental homes nearby.

Mr Rowley and Ms Sturgess came into contact with A234, a military-grade nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union in the Cold War, from a discarded scent bottle.

The perfume container had been used to put the nerve agent onto Mr Skripal's front door handle.

Paramedics were called to Mr Rowley's flat after the 44-year-old collapsed, and later the same day when 45-year-old Ms Sturgess fell ill.

The mother-of-three, from Salisbury, died later while Mr Rowley was discharged from hospital in July.

Housing provider Stonewater said it had agreed with Wiltshire Council to knock down two flats in Muggleton Road after after taking residents' views, and the current state of the properties, into consideration.

A three-part drama inspired by the 2018 Novichok poisonings in Salisbury is due to be shown on BBC One later this month.