FIVE years after the Novichok poisonings a new podcast has been launched to uncover its lasting impact.

'My Moment in History: The Salisbury Poisonings' is a five-part series produced by the BBC and hosted by presenter Katie Piper.

The podcast revisits March 4, 2018, when former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, were found slumped and unresponsive on a bench after being poisoned by a nerve agent.

Following the assassination attempt, authorities grappled with fears of contamination and searched for the culprits causing the whole city to become a crime scene.

Police identified two officers from Russian military intelligence as the main suspects and a perfume bottle as the means of delivery of the nerve agent onto Mr Skripal's front door handle. 

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In July a local woman, Dawn Sturgess, died after coming into contact with a discarded bottle of perfume which, unknown to her, contained the poison.

Salisbury Journal: Dawn Sturgess Dawn Sturgess (Image: File)

A preliminary hearing into her death will be held at 10.30am on March 24, 2023, at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

In each episode, Katie talks to local people about how they were affected, what they did, and how, five years on, they and the city are beginning to recover.

She said: “With the contributors I've talked to, they were everyday people getting on with their lives, until one moment changed everything, their lives were turned upside down in a way that is quite unimaginable for most people.

"I know how important it is to have a voice and be able to tell your side of the story so I hope through this podcast, I give that to the people that were involved in the poisonings.”

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Dr James Haslam treated all the victims at Salisbury District Hospital's intensive care unit.

As reported by the BBC, Dr Haslam described the attack as "callous beyond belief", adding: "We all felt some measure of trauma - it could have been a work of fiction it was that crazy. It was an immense amount of pressure, it felt like the stakes were very high," he said.

"I was totally exhausted, emotionally, physically, mentally."

Tracy Dasciewizc, former director of public health at Wiltshire Council, told Katie that Dawn's death had left her "devastated".

She said: "Even now I can feel how I felt. You can't begin to process it, devastated doesn't even come close.

"I don't think I ever will process it. I don't necessarily see that as a negative, I see this as an enormous thing I was a part of."

Each episode is 15 minutes long and the podcast is available on BBC Sounds.