A man and a woman in their 40s are in a critical condition after suspected exposure to an unknown substance in Amesbury, Wiltshire.

Police declared a major incident on Tuesday after the pair were found unconscious in a house in Muggleton Road on Saturday night.

They are both being treated at Salisbury District Hospital.

The town of Amesbury is roughly eight miles from the city of Salisbury, where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were targeted with the nerve agent novichok in March.

Police initially believed the Amesbury pair, who have not been named, fell ill after using heroin or crack cocaine from a contaminated batch of drugs.


But further tests are now taking place to establish the substance, with police said to be "keeping an open mind" as to the circumstances around the case.

Image: A government spokesman says ministers are being kept up to date

It remains unclear if a crime has been committed.

It is believed one of the last places the couple were seen in public was a family fun day at Amesbury Baptist Church on Saturday afternoon.

Roy Collins, church secretary, said: "Last weekend we held a community fundraiser and we understand this may well be the last event this couple went to in public."

He said he woke to find the church cordoned off by police at 6am on Wednesday.

"We are all quite puzzled and shocked - naturally the connection with Salisbury and recent events there mean there is a heightened public interest," he added.

"We are praying for the couple, one of our members knows them and clearly there are concerns for them and any others in the community.

Image: Residents have been told to expect an increased police presence

"They are not church members or regulars."

Mr Collins said around 200 people attended the community event, including many families and children, but "nobody else has suffered any ill effects".

"There have been no reports of any other incidents," he added.

"It was a beautiful, sunny day and it was a glorious event, there was nothing going on that was nefarious.

I'm closely following events in Amesbury but it's important we remain calm and avoid unnecessary speculation. Priority at this time is for facts to be established and for the police to be allowed to do their job. The safety of people in South Wiltshire is the number one priority. — John Glen MP (@JohnGlenUK) 4 July 2018

"This is a real surprise and shock to us - we do continue to keep the couple in our prayers."

Parts of Amesbury and Salisbury thought to have been visited by the pair will be cordoned off overnight as a precautionary measure.

Those living in the areas have been told to expect an increased police presence.

Salisbury District Hospital is open as usual and patients are advised to attend appointments unless told otherwise.

A Public Health England (PHE) spokesman said: "The current advice from PHE England, based upon the number of casualties affected, is that it is not believed that there is a significant health risk to the wider public.

"This will be continually assessed as further information becomes known."

A government spokesman said: "Ministers are being kept up to date about the incident in Amesbury."

The police and crime commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon Angus Macpherson says there is nothing to suggest the incident is "in any way connected to Skripal case at this moment in time".

Image: The unnamed couple from Amesbury are in a critical condition at Salisbury District Hospital

He also told the BBC: "I haven't seen anything in this incident yet that I would consider to be an overreaction, it all seems fairly textbook."

Wiltshire Police gave an update on Wednesday, saying: "We continue to deal with the major incident declared in the Amesbury area.

"It is suspected that two people may have been exposed to an unknown substance.

"As soon as we have more information we will issue it on our Wiltshire Police social media and website."

Salisbury and South Wiltshire MP John Glen said: "I appreciate that today's news from Amesbury could be unsettling, following so soon after the appalling incident in Salisbury on March 4.

Image: Sergei and Yulia Skripal were poisoned in Salisbury in March

"But at this time we need to let Wiltshire Police and their partners carry out the investigation to find out what has happened.

"It is important that we all remain calm and avoid unnecessary speculation.

"The priority at this time is for the facts to be established quickly and for the police to be allowed to do their job.

"I am closely following events as they unfold and I'm sure I speak for all local agencies in saying that the safety of people in South Wiltshire is the number one priority."

Mr Skripal and his daughter both survived being poisoned with a nerve agent in an attack the British government has blamed on Russia.

Ms Skripal said after being released from hospital: "We are so lucky to have both survived this attempted assassination.

"Our recovery has been slow and extremely painful."

Her father, who has not yet spoken to the media, was discharged from hospital in May.

The pair each spent weeks in a coma after they were found frothing at the mouth on a bench in Salisbury on March 4.