Novichok survivor Charlie Rowley ‘rushed to hospital after going blind’

Mr Rowley, 45, was rushed to intensive care on August 17 – over a month since he accidentally gave his partner, 44, a “cosmetic” bottle containing the deadly Novichok chemical as a present.

It is the same nerve agent used in an assassination attempt against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March of this year.

Ms Sturgess died on July 8 after being exposed to the Soviet-era poison, which she is believed to have sprayed on herself.

Now, speaking to The Sun, Mr Rowley's brother Matthew, 47, said: 'I have spoken to him and he went temporarily blind and couldn't see anything.”

A hospital spokesman declined to comment on any individual cases, but said it was not currently treating anyone for nerve agent-related illness, according to the Mirror.

The couple became unwell at Mr Rowley’s home in Muggleton Road, Amesbury, on June 30 after handling a contaminated bottle which was found at the property.

Mr Rowley said Mrs Sturgess sprayed the chemical on to her wrists believing it was perfume as a gift.

The toxic nerve agent took 15 minutes to poison Ms Sturgess after she sprayed it on to her wrists, believing it was perfume he had given her as a gift.

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They were both rushed to hospital hours later with symptoms including foaming at the mouth and hallucinating.

Following the terrifying ordeal, Mr Rowley told ITV News: "I had showed Dawn what I'd found. It might've been hanging around the flat for a couple of days.

“I find things and it looked expensive. It looked expensive. Unfortunately, it turned out to be… to be a bad find.

“Within 15 minutes Dawn said she had a headache. She asked me if I had any headache tablets. I had a look around the flat.

“In that time, she said she felt peculiar and needed to lie down in the bath."

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