LONDON (Reuters) - Charlie Rowley, one of two Britons poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok last month, was released from hospital on Friday.

Rowley, 45, and Dawn Sturgess, 44, fell ill after being exposed to the poison in southwest England, close to where Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were attacked with the same substance in March.

“I am pleased to confirm that earlier today, Charlie Rowley was discharged from hospital. Charlie has been through an appalling experience most of us could never imagine,” Lorna Wilkinson, Director of Nursing at Salisbury District Hospital, said in a statement.

Sturgess died earlier this month and her death is being treated as murder.

Britain blamed Russia for the poisoning of the Skripals. The Kremlin denied involvement and the incident sparked mass tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions as relations between the countries soured.

Police say the source of the Novichok which killed Sturgess was a small bottle they found in Rowley’s house, and more than 400 items have been recovered as part of the murder investigation.

Paul Cosford of Public Health England said it was safe for Rowley to leave hospital.

“Mr Rowley’s discharge creates no risk to anyone in the community,” he added in a statement.