Police seize four more vehicles in Swindon and Salisbury as probe into Amesbury Novichok poisoning widens further
COPS are today moving four more vehicles from Salisbury and Swindon as the probe into the Novichok poisoning widens.
It comes a day after police confirmed a bottle of the nerve agent was found at the home of Charlie Rowley and his partner - who died in hospital last weekend.
The pair were found critically ill after being exposed to Novichok - months after ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal were targeted with same substance in the same city.
As work begins to work out if the nerve agent which killed Dawn Sturgess, and has left her partner Charlie seriously ill, came from the same batch used on Sergei and Yulia.
Amid this investigation, more vehicles have been seized from a police garage workshop in Swindon and Salisbury Ambulance Station.
A statement from Wiltshire Police says: "The public should not be alarmed by this.
"Those involved in the removal of the vehicle have the necessary training and expertise to carry out a variety of tasks, which includes the safe removal of vehicles.
"The current advice from Public Health England is that the risk to the public remains low."
Officers are working to learn how the pair got hold of the nerve agent - currently a mystery.
The UK has invited experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to independently confirm the identity of the nerve agent.
More than 400 exhibits, samples and items have now been recovered by search teams within the investigation.
Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, National Lead for Counter Terrorism (CT) Policing in the UK said: “It is not an exaggeration to say that the search process linked with both this and the Salisbury investigation has been one of the most complex and difficult that UK policing has ever faced.
“The work being carried out is extremely important. Not only are we trying to solve an extremely serious crime that has been committed, but we’re also working to identify any potential outstanding risks to the public; all whilst ensuring that all those involved in the search process are not themselves exposed to any risk of contamination.
“It is painstaking and vital work, which unfortunately takes a very long time to complete, but I am sure that the public understands why it is absolutely necessary.
Typical work involves taking swabs of surfaces or the recovery of specific items and exhibits from the scene.
Routes in and out of the search sites are meticulously planned as each deployment has to be performed in a way to ensure traces of the nerve agent are not inadvertently spread to other areas by those carrying out the searches.
Blood samples from everyone entering a scene are taken regularly and compared against a baseline sample to check for any signs of exposure to the nerve agent that they are working to find.
About 100 detectives from the Counter Terrorism Policing Network have been drafted in to work on the probe, with Wiltshire Police.
A post mortem is scheduled to take place on Tuesday and an inquest into 45-year-old Dawn's death is set to open and adjourn in Salisbury on Thursday.
Mum-of-three Dawn's heartbroken family released an emotional statement paying tribute to her earlier this week.
They said: "Dawn's death has been devastating for us. Dawn will always be remembered by us as a gentle soul who was generous to a fault."
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This week emergency services were stood down after fears a man may have come into contact with a nerve agent near Zizzi's in Salisbury.
Officers in protective gear cordoned off Castle Street - metres from where the Skripals dined before they collapsed from Novichok poisoning in March.
He was taken to Salisbury District Hospital where he was tested for signs he had been in contact with a nerve agent, which medics confirmed came back as negative.
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