Military personnel in College Street Car Park in Salisbury, as police and members of the armed forces probe the suspected nerve agent attack on a Russian double agent. Photo / AP
Military personnel in College Street Car Park in Salisbury, as police and members of the armed forces probe the suspected nerve agent attack on a Russian double agent. Photo / AP
Anyone who visited the pub and restaurant in Salisbury where the poisoned Russian spy and his daughter went before they fell, are being advised to wash their clothes and other possessions to avoid possible contamination.
Hundreds of people are thought to have gone to The Mill Pub and Zizzi's restaurant in Salisbury between Sunday lunchtime and Monday evening local time, a week ago, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Sergei Skirpal, 66, and his daughter, Yulia, 33, were taken ill shortly after visiting both venues.
Public Health England (PHE), is now advising anyone who was at either location to wash the clothes they were wearing immediately, and also wipe down other items such as mobile phones, jewellery and even spectacles.
A spokesman for PHE said: "Based on current evidence, the risk to the general public from this substance has not changed and remains low.
"While there is no immediate health risk to anyone who may have been in either of these locations, it is possible, but unlikely, that any of the substance which has come into contact with clothing or belongings could still be present in minute amounts and therefore contaminate your skin.
"Over time, repeated skin contact with contaminated items may pose a small risk to health."
Anyone who visited either location is being advised to:
- Wash the clothing that you were wearing in an ordinary washing machine using your regular detergent at the temperature recommended for the clothing - Any items which cannot be washed, and which would normally be dry cleaned, should be put in two plastic bags tied at the top and stored safely in your own home. - Wipe personal items such as phones, handbags and other electronic items with cleansing or baby wipes and dispose of the wipes in the bin (ordinary domestic waste disposal) - Other items such as jewellery and spectacles which cannot go in the washing machine or be cleaned with cleansing or baby wipes, should be hand washed with warm water and detergent and then rinsed with clean cold water. Thoroughly wash hands with soap and water after cleaning any items.
The view inside The Mill pub in Salisbury where traces of a nerve agent were found. Photo / AP
Dr Jenny Harries, PHE Deputy Medical Director, said: "The immediate risk to the general public remains low and this has not changed.
"Rigorous scientific analysis has been on-going and we have learnt that there has been some limited contamination in both The Mill pub and Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury.
"Anyone who visited The Mill pub or Zizzi restaurant where the two affected individuals were can be reassured that this limited exposure will not have harmed their health to date.
"However, there may be a very small health risk associated with repeated contact with belongings which may have been contaminated by this substance.
"We therefore recommend that a precautionary approach is taken and advise people to clean the clothes they were wearing and any possessions they had with them."
Wiltshire Police told residents "not to be alarmed" as the military removed a number of vehicles and objects from in and around Salisbury.
Troops, including Royal Marines, were supported by firefighters, police and medics at Bourne Hill police station in the biggest military operation yet.
Uniformed men put on the now-familiar hazmat suits and gas masks before numbering at least eight marked police vehicles and civilian cars with white spray paint.
A military forklift truck is being used to lift the cars onto the back of low-loader trucks, where they are being covered before the military remove them from the scene.
