A man exposed to the novichok nerve agent in the UK has been discharged from hospital.

Charlie Rowley was one of two people poisoned earlier this month, and was taken to hospital after falling ill.

His partner, 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess, died after exposure to the nerve agent.

This evening, Lorna Wilkinson, director of nursing at Salisbury Hospital, said Mr Rowley had been through "an appalling experience most of us could never imagine".

She said: "Today is a very welcome milestone in his recovery and all of us here at Salisbury Hospital wish him well as he continues to get better. 

"But it is also a day tinged with sadness for everyone as we remember Dawn Sturgess, who tragically lost her life on Sunday 8 July."

She added: "We continue to think both of Charlie and of Dawn’s family, and support them as they go through the difficult process of coming to terms with her death."

Last week, police in the UK confirmed they had found a bottle in Mr Rowley's house in Amesbury, believed to have contained the novichok.

A murder investigation is under way following the death of Ms Sturgess.

Investigators are looking to establish whether there is any link to the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia earlier this year.

Yesterday, a report from the Press Association claimed police had identified the suspected perpetrators of the attack on the Skripals - but UK Security Minister Ben Wallace claimed the report belongs in the "ill informed and wild speculation folder".