'It is a solace that novichok didn't kill Dawn's daughter'

Mother tells poisoning probe of youngster's lucky escape

- ADAM ASPINALL

THE mother of novichok victim Dawn Sturgess has told how Dawn's daughter was due to visit her on the day she died.

And Caroline Sturgess revealed that the devastated family has found a crumb of comfort in the fact the youngster never faced the same fate as her mum.

She said: "Dawn's death was a tragedy to us all but the fact that her daughter was not killed as well is a solace that we often revisit." Caroline spoke yesterday at the inquiry into the novichok scandal in Salisbury, where Russian agents were suspected of targeting former spy Sergei Skripal GA and his daughter Yulia with the killer nerve agent in March 2018.

Dawn died after spraying herself with the poison from a discarded perfume bottle given to her by boyfriend Charlie Rowley.

Caroline told how she last spoke to her daughter, who was living in a hostel, the night before.