ON day two of the Dawn Sturgess Public Inquiry, tributes and statements were read by Dawn's mother.

Caroline Sturgess gave a pen portrait of her late daughter, who died after being poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok in 2018, as well as reading a statement from Ms Sturgess' daughter.

She read: 'Dawn was the eldest of our four girls; a mother of three children herself. Now she would have been a grandmother but she will never have the absolute joy of meeting her first grandchild and doesn’t get to watch her grow.

'She was an intelligent, funny, extremely selfless and very kind person. She always cared deeply for her family and many friends that surrounded her. She did not judge a single person and strived to make others happy even when she didn’t feel like smiling herself.'

Ms Sturgess lived at John Baker House due to 'her circumstances' but kept in touch with family, the Inquiry heard.

She described how the youngest of Ms Sturgess' children was still in primary school, and she would take her to visit her mum as much as possible.

READ MORE: Live: Dawn Sturgess Inquiry at Salisbury Guildhall

'They loved spending quality time together' Caroline continued, 'Dawn always greeted her in the same manner – on her knees so she could run into her arms.'

Caroline last contacted Ms Sturgess the night before she was poisoned to discuss bringing her daughter to visit her the next morning. It was 'pure chance' that she sprayed the perfume before her daughter arrived, the inquiry heard.

Caroline said: 'Dawn’s death was a tragedy to us all, but the fact that her daughter was not killed as well is a solace that we often revisit.

'We understand that the perfume bottle contained enough Novichok to kill thousands of people. Again, although we are devastated by her death, our family find comfort that Dawn was the only life lost that day when the potential harm was much, much more. We know she would agree.'

'Me and my mum had a bond that I will never forget''Me and my mum had a bond that I will never forget' (Image: Crown Copyright)

In a statement from Dawn's daughter, who can only be referred to as GS for legal reasons, the inquiry heard: '“Me and my mum had a bond that I will never forget. The day I heard she had fallen really ill was heartbreaking to hear.

'In my mind I thought she would push through it because there was nothing my mum couldn’t handle. The day I heard everyone go to say their goodbyes when she was in intensive care was so upsetting. Shortly after she passed away.

'One thing I will never forget is due to my age I never saw her or got to say goodbye.'