Prince Charles and Camilla meet poisoned policeman on visit to Salisbury

Salisbury hopes that the royal guests will show the rest of the UK that the city remains open. Credit: PA

After a dramatic fall in visitors since the poisoning of the former Russian spy, Salisbury is banking on two Royal guests on Friday to spread word that the city remains open.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are in Salisbury to show visitors and tourists that they have nothing to fear from coming here despite the closure of the parks and restaurants where Sergei and Yulia Skripal visited before becoming seriously ill.

Charles and Camilla also had a private meeting with Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey who suffered from the effects of the nerve agent Novichok when he went to help the Skripals who were slumped on a bench in the Maltings area of the city centre.

The British Government blamed the Russian state for the attack and a number of other countries removed diplomats from Moscow in support of the UK.

Russia, however, has maintained throughout it was not responsible.

Staff in the shops in Salisbury next to the spot where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious have described how they thought they were going to lose their jobs.

Some of the shops have only recently been allowed to re-open.

The workers say they were on the cusp of closing down completely.

Other stall holders spoke of their takings being down by 80% and the £1,000 one off payment from the hardship fund barely covered a week’s takings, let alone the three months in which their businesses were affected.

They all welcomed the visit by Charles and Camilla – telling us that the Royals would help to restore confidence in the city and encourage tourists to return, following a 15% fall in visitors.

During their visit, Charles and Camilla also met members of the emergency services and hospital staff who dealt with the incident.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall met city officials and those who dealt with the poisoning incident. Credit: Pool

Their visit to the Guildhall was designed to boost the recovery programme and they also met people in the shopping area.

A royal visit won’t resolve Salisbury’s visitor numbers overnight.

But it could be a powerful visual message to the country and the rest of the world that this historic city and its stunning cathedral are safe to visit.

Tourism has taken a hit in Salisbury, with local businesses suffering. Credit: PA