Wiltshire man falls ill after coming into contact with ‘unknown substance’

A man fell ill after coming into contact with an unknown substance, police have said.

Emergency services attended a property on Charles Road in Durrington, Wiltshire, on Friday night and assessed the man, who is believed to be in his 40s. He did not require further treatment.

A cordon placed around the property has since been lifted. The operation was stood down after tests on the substance came back negative, police added.

Ch Insp Graham McLaughlin, from Wiltshire Police, thanked the fire service, ambulance service and specialist resources for aiding the emergency response.

In a statement on Friday night, Wiltshire Police said there is not thought to be any threat to the wider public.

Ch Insp McLaughlin added: “We appreciate the concern this incident has had in the community given the recent history and please be assured that the report was taken extremely seriously.

“Testing has been found to be negative and as a result the response and cordon has been lifted.”

In 2018, ex-Russian military intelligence officer and British double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned by a nerve agent in Salisbury.

Both of them spent several weeks in critical condition before being released from hospital.

Months later, Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after being inadvertently exposed to a nerve agent which was left in a discarded perfume bottle in nearby Amesbury.