Novichok poisoning victim Charlie Rowley's brother Matthew said he was like a skeleton and 'living by the hour'

Novichok poisoning victim Charlie Rowley's brother has revealed he is 'like a skeleton' and is 'living by the hour'.

Matthew Rowley admitted he 'hardly recognised' his 45-year-old sibling as he lay in hospital where several machines were keeping him alive.

It is believed that Charlie touched a vessel that contained Novichok following the attempted assassination of Sergei and Yulia Skripal earlier this year.

The substance has already killed his partner Dawn Sturgess who also came into contact with the nerve agent.

Charlie has spoken to police and is in a 'serious, but stable' condition, rather than critical.

Matthew said he visited his ill brother in the Salisbury hospital, saying it was 'shocking' to see him in such a state.

Speaking to ITV News, Matthew said: 'It's quite shocking to see him first of all. Because he's not the Charles I know.

'He is awake. He is talking, making sense but he's like a skeleton at the moment.

'He is eating solid foods whereas he was on liquids for nine days so he's lost weight.

'He couldn't really pick his head off the pillow but we managed to have a laugh together about the nurses and getting their phone numbers and things.

'He has got it there still and he is getting stronger. The nurses say he's getting stronger.'

Police say the poisoning of Mr Rowley (right) and Dawn Sturgess (left) are linked to the attempted assassination of a former Russian spy and his daughter in March

Matthew continued: 'I've never seen so many machines. Must've been six machines.

'He had a lot of tubes coming out of him, a h**l of a lot. He was connected to another set of monitors on this side. Still intensive care.

'The nurse said he will be here for some time.... he's talking and eating, he's getting better which is a good sign. Still 50/50.

''At the moment he's living by the hour. That's what the nurses said. A day at a time instead of long term. A day at a time.'

Matthew added: 'I hardly recognised him to tell you the truth. He will get better because he's eating now – that's through not eating for the last nine days. He started to tire out so that's why I left. He could hardly pick his head of the pillow.'

Matthew admitted that he hadn't seen Charlie in quite awhile due to his 'problems' but Charlie still reconsigned him when he visited him.

He said Charlie was aware his partner Dawn died and was 'a bit tearful' over the subject, so he didn't press the issue as to not upset him.

Matthew said Charlie was aware he had been poisoned with Novichok but had made wry jokes about being famous due to the incident.

After visiting critically ill Novichok victim Charlie Rowley in hospital, his brother Matthew has spoken to ITV News, describing how he hardly recognised his 'skeleton' brother and the number of machines being used by doctors to keep him alive.

Police have sealed off John Baker House, the former home of Ms Sturgess in Salisbury

As Charlie is in hospital, detectives are desperately trying to find the source of the nerve agent which made him seriously ill and killed his partner Dawn Sturgess.

As the investigation continued today, Salisbury hospital's director of nursing , Lorna Wilkinson, said Mr Rowley had progressed overnight and is now in a 'serious, but stable' condition, rather than critical.

In a statement today, Scotland Yard said: 'Officers from the investigation team have spoken briefly to Charlie and will be looking to further speak with him in the coming days as they continue to try and establish how he and Dawn came to be contaminated with the nerve agent.'

It is understood police are being guided by doctors over when and for how long they can interview Mr Rowley.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said it was implausible that the attack on the Skripals in Salisbury in March, and the poisonings nearby of Ms Sturgess and Mr Rowley were not linked.

He confirmed that investigators had seized a bus which the couple travelled on, as well as a red Transit van which Mr Rowley used, and had tested them for contamination.

Mr Basu continued: 'Tests on the bus have shown no trace of the nerve agent. The van is still undergoing examination, but four other men who had been in the van prior to its seizure by police have all been contacted and preliminary tests show that they are clear and have no symptoms.'

He warned the investigation into the latest poisonings would take months.

Police have not yet found any evidence that Ms Sturgess and Mr Rowley visited any of the sites that underwent decontamination following the attack on the Skripals in March.'

The pair fell ill at Mr Rowley's home in Amesbury - eight miles from Salisbury - on June 30, with anti-terror police launching a massive operation to find the source of the contaminant, which is believed to be inside a container.

Staff at Salisbury District Hospital said Mr Rowley has made a 'a small but significant improvement' and has regained consciousness but still needs round-the-clock care.

Former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were hospitalised in a Novichok attack in March which Britain has blamed on Russia

The attack led to a huge clean-up operation around Salisbury, which has been restarted in the wake of the latest poisonings

Tributes have been paid to mother-of-three Ms Sturgess, with her family saying: 'Dawn's death has been devastating for us. Dawn will always be remembered by us as a gentle soul who was generous to a fault.'

While the advice from Public Health England is that the risk to the public is low, Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies has warned everyone in the area not to pick up 'any foreign object which could contain liquid or gel, in the interests of their own safety'.

Central to the investigation are John Baker House, the supported-living accommodation where Ms Sturgess lived, Mr Rowley's home in Amesbury, and Salisbury's Queen Elizabeth Gardens, which remains cordoned off.

The Government today pledged over £5million to support businesses and meet costs in Salisbury and Amesbury after the area was rocked by a second nerve agent poisoning.

The large sum follows a £2.5million boost the government initially pledged to support the community in Salisbury following the Novichok attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

The £5.3 million, awarded after Dawn Sturgess, 44, and Charlie Rowley, 45, became contaminated by traces of the deadly nerve agent, will support Salisbury and Amesbury, both Wilts, through another investigation and clean-up.

Today's announcement brings the total package of Government support to Salisbury and the region to more than £7.5 million.