Man charged over poisoned drink

A MAN was charged yesterday in connection with a series of incidents in which tonic water was spiked with a chemical derivative of deadly nightshade at a Safeway store in Edinburgh.

The 48-year-old man, who has not been named, was arrested after a raid on a house in East Lothian. Eight people fell ill, four seriously, after drinking the contaminated tonic. Police said that of 21 bottles sold by the store on 24 and 25 August, 14 had been accounted for.