A church in the city still reeling from the Novichok poisoning will host a concert entitled From Russia With Love.

The event – named after the James Bond tale about a secret Russian crime organisation – is promoted by posters emblazoned with the country’s flag and a big love heart.

Featuring classical music from Russian composers, the performance takes place in St Martin’s Church, Salisbury, on October 13 – just months after the city was struck by the nerve agent attack.

The concert will be held less than two miles from the home of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and not far from the bench where he and his daughter Yulia collapsed in March.

A poster advertising the event was found on Thursday displayed in a car park just metres from Salisbury Cathedral – the spire of which suspects Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov famously praised while denying any involvement in the attack. During a television interview they instead claimed they were tourists.

A picture of a poster found in Salisbury city centre promoting a concert due to take place called “From Russia With Love”. (Kim Chalet/PA)
A picture of a poster found in Salisbury city centre promoting the From Russia With Love concert. (Kim Chalet/PA)

Gill Bolton, one of the organisers and performers, said she was “not best pleased” with the poster design, admitting it was a bit “off putting” but that no-one had complained.

She said the programme of concerts for the forthcoming season was planned about a year in advance and was not in response to recent events, adding: “It’s not really anything to do with the Skripals and that sort of thing.”

The design was created by someone who did not live in the area but who took inspiration from the James Bond story of the same name, she said.

In the original Ian Fleming novel, a wing of the Soviet military is tasked with assassinating western spies.

The theme was picked because Russian music was “really quite good” and organisers hoped the choice of pieces from well-known ballets would appeal to a wide audience. The music was mainly composed in the 19th century and “well before any conflict”, Mrs Bolton said.

Pianists will perform the work of composers including Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich.

She added: “It’s a pity we chose that title.

“The music itself has nothing to do with it [the current events]. It’s quite upbeat.

“I hope people have looked beyond the title and instead look at the programme of music.”

UK authorities believe two Russians, using the aliases Petrov and Boshirov, smeared the highly toxic chemical on the door handle of Mr Skripal’s home, leaving the pair critically ill.

Dawn Sturgess was three months later exposed to the same nerve agent in Amesbury and died.

On Thursday, US authorities charged seven Russian military intelligence officers for hacking the organisation investigating the poisoning.

Earlier in the day British and Dutch officials revealed they thwarted an attempt by the Russian military intelligence service GRU to hack the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Mrs Bolton said it had been “very tough” in Salisbury in the last few months, adding: “I just think it’s very sad. It’s a shame for the city.”