I felt myself melting, says doorstep acid attack mother
Police hunt for balaclava-clad man who threw corrosive liquid
A WOMAN who was seriously burned in a horrific doorstep acid attack told yesterday how she feared she was going to die during the ordeal.
Teresa McCann said she felt herself ‘melting’ after the masked man threw corrosive liquid in her face as she answered her front door.
The 37-year-old mother told how she frantically tried to wash off the acid from her face, neck and arms in the shower.
But she was left needing plastic surgery and fears she may be blind in one eye. She also lost part of her ear in the attack, which will leave her scarred for life.
Her young son, who was standing behind her in the doorway of their Edinburgh home, is understood to have suffered burns to his feet after standing in the liquid.
He managed to avoid serious injury only because his father whisked him away.
Both Miss McCann and her son were taken to St John’s hospital in Livingston, West Lothian.
Police believe the incident in Captain’s Road, in the Gracemount area of the capital, was a targeted attack and have appealed for information to help identify the person responsible. Miss McCann had answered the door after being disturbed while putting her children to bed.
She told STV: ‘I really did think I was going to die.
‘It could have been anyone who opened that door, they just didn’t care.’
She added: ‘I just felt myself melting. The pain was indescribable. I was confused, I didn’t know what was hap- pening. I got in the shower and got most of it off, but not enough because I lost most of my ear. I will be scarred for life, I will always have flashbacks.’
Miss McCann suffered serious burns to her face and neck during the attack at the bungalow she shares with her partner, Thomas Tams.
She described how the attacker rang her doorbell 8.40pm on Friday and threw the liquid at her as she answered the door.
She said: ‘A man was stood with a balaclava and he just flung a bottle of orange substance into my face.
‘It’s like a nightmare. For someone to come to your door and be so heartless and fling something like that into your face not knowing if they are going to kill you, blind you, even worse.’
Neighbours described hearing screaming in the aftermath of the incident, while police officers arrived soon after to cordon off the area.
One said: ‘I was woken up by police banging on my door. It is terrible.’ Another added: ‘I heard lots of shouting after it happened.’
The suspect is described as in his early 20s, around 5ft 11in tall and of slim build. His face was covered and he was wearing dark gloves and dark trainers. He is believed to have escaped in a car.
Miss McCann last night made an emotional appeal for help in catching her attacker.
She insisted: ‘If he had any heart or any soul, he would go to the police, that would make him a human being.’
Detective Inspector Stevie Rosie said: ‘We’re still working to establish the motive surrounding this attack. However, we believe this to be a targeted attack.
‘Police are supporting the victim, who has sustained some very serious injuries to her face and neck.
‘Anyone who recognises him, or who has any other information relevant to this investigation should contact police immediately.’
The incident has echoes of a 1991 attack when acid was thrown in the face of Louise Duddy, then 26, in Gorgie, Edinburgh.
She was blinded after being targeted by hitman Kelvin Greenhalghse, who had been hired by her ex-husband, Gordon Modiak.
Modiak, who was jealous of the attention Miss Duddy received from other men, paid Greenhalghse £3,000. Both men were jailed for 20 years.
Figures published earlier this year found that acid attacks have trebled across the UK in three years. Almost 950 were reported last year, according to the charity Acid Survivors Trust International.
‘Thought I was going to die’