Detective nearly killed in Salisbury Novichok attack sues police over 'accident at work'

THE police officer poisoned by Novichok in the Salisbury attacks is suing his force, it's reported.

Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was left fighting for his life after being exposed to the nerve agent in March 2018.

He was in intensive care for two weeks after being contaminated while investigating the poisonings of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

After surviving the horror attack he was left with depression and memory loss.

He was medically retired from Wiltshire Police last October.

This month, the former cop's lawyers lodged a case against Chief Constable Kier Pritchard at the High Court, The Mirror reports.

COURT BATTLE

The personal injury claim isfiled under “accidents at work”.

Last December, Mr Bailey’s wife Sarah tweetedthat he was still “fighting for part of his pension”.

In response to a tweet from the Wiltshire Police Federation, she wrote: "Nick retired 7 weeks ago and he’s still fighting for part of his pension.

"You even said he resigned. Not the case at all, he’s been medically retired."

After returning to frontline police he was forced to quite the force last year as his ordeal “took so much from me”.

He has described how he was contaminated from poison smeared on the door handle and how it spread through his body leaving him “juddering” and “dripping with sweat”.

After being treated in hospital 17 days, the Wiltshire cop’s house and possessions had to be destroyed , leaving him “emotionally battered."

His lawyer, Patrick Maguire, said: “Our client experienced a trauma which had a devastating effect on his family and forced him to leave the job he loved.”

Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga, two members of the Russian security services, are suspected of carrying out the deadly attack.

The Novichok, which is fatal in the tiniest of doses, had been smuggled into the UK in a fake perfume bottle.

Local man Charlie Rowley, 45, gave it to his partner Dawn Sturgess, 44.

Both were poisoned and while Charlie survived, Dawn died nine days later in hospital.

Dawn's family is taking legal action against the Russian state over her death.

Mishkin and Chepiga, were last month accused of murdering two men in a blast at a Czech Republic arms dump.

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