Two appear in court over club acid attack

THE FORMER boyfriend of reality TV star Ferne McCann and father of her unborn child has appeared in court charged in connection with an acid attack at an east London nightclub.

The incident on Easter Monday left two people partially blinded and others disfigured. Arthur Collins is charged with 14 counts of grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent against four men and 10 women, and one count of throwing an acidic liquid with intent to do GBH to multiple people.

The 24-year-old, wearing a green jacket over a grey hooded top and walking with crutches, spoke only to confirm his name and address when he appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court.

In a statement released earlier McCann, best known for her appearances on The Only Way Is Essex and I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! said her thoughts are with the victims of what she described as the “horrific” nightclub attack.

Clubbers were doused with a corrosive substance at the Mangle nightclub in Dalston on April 17.

Confirming the pregnancy, McCann’s agent said: “Ferne is grateful for the sympathetic way news of her pregnancy has been covered and people’s support and obviously her first concern is for her child’s health.”

Andre Phoenix, of Clyde Road, Tottenham, appeared alongside Collins, of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. Phoenix, 21, is charged with seven counts of throwing a corrosive fluid with intent to do GBH to three men and four women.

Prosecutor Ciro D’Alessio told the court there was a third unidentified suspect at large. Both defendants were remanded in custody to appear at Wood Green Crown Court on May 22.