THE British army’s chief nursing officer was the first adult to help double agent Sergei Skripal after he collapsed in Salisbury last March, it has been revealed.

Colonel Alison McCourt was walking through Salisbury when her teenage daughter, Abigail, spotted Mr Skripal slumped on a bench. They then delivered first aid until paramedics arrived.

The colonel’s role remained under wraps for almost a year until she nominated her daughter for a bravery award run by local radio station, Spire FM, who broadcast an interview with Abigail late last week.