British Novichok nerve agent survivor Charlie Rowley says he feels lucky to be alive but doubts he will ever get over what happened.
The 45-year-old was discharged from hospital in Salisbury on Friday after being exposed to the deadly substance which claimed the life of his partner 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess on July 8.
The pair were struck down after handling a contaminated cosmetic bottle that Rowley had given his partner as a gift with both admitted to hospital in a critical condition on June 30.
"I'm feeling very low about Dawn. I remember finding a cosmetic bottle which I had picked up and gave it to Dawn as a present," Rowley told The Sun newspaper.
"I feel very sad about what happened to her, it's awful and shocking.
"I was still on medication when they told me she passed away. I don't think I will ever be able to get over it.
"My heart goes out to Dawn's family. It's amazing that I'm alive. In a way I feel lucky I survived but I've also lost so much."
The couple fell ill at a property in Amesbury, 11km from Salisbury, where four months earlier former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia where found unconscious on a park bench after being attacked with the same substance.
Police are believed to have identified the suspected perpetrators of the attack on the Skripals.
Rowley also spoke out about those who had discarded the contaminated bottle.
"It's very careless of them, the way they go about their business leaving things lying around," Rowley told The Sun.
"It was meant for someone, it was wrong to leave it lying around for anyone to pick up. There could have been children playing with it."
