Acid thrower gets 20 years in prison
THE man who threw acid over partygoers including two Australians in an east London nightclub has been sentenced to 20 years jail.
Sydney-based model Isobella Fraser and her sister Prue were among 22 people who reported injuries when Arthur Collins, 25, of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, flung acid into a crowd at the Mangle E8 nightclub in April.
Sixteen people suffered chemical burns, three were temporarily blinded and one still suffers from blurred vision in one eye. The charges related to 14 of the injured.
Isobella suffered burns down her arm and neck when the acid burned through her dress.
At a sentencing hearing, Judge Noel Lucas described the attack as “a despicable act” and described as Collins “an accomplished and calculated liar” who had shown “not a shred of remorse”.
“You knew precisely what strong acid would do to human skin,” the judge told Collins.
“Having thrown the acid over the club you slunk away and hid in the rear and pretended to be nothing to do with the mayhem you had caused.
“In my judgment it was deliberate and calculated and you were intent on causing really serious harm.”
At his trial, Collins claimed he did not know the bottle contained acid. He claimed he thought it contained a liquid date rape drug and said he threw it after hearing two men say they were planning to spike a girl’s drink.
But a jury rejected this argument at London’s Wood Green Crown Court last month and convicted him of five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent and nine counts of actual bodily harm.
On top of his 20-year sentence, Collins will be subject to five further years on extended licence.
The attack is one of a series of sickening incidents of people throwing acid in London.
CCTV showed Collins, the ex of UK reality star Ferne McCann, and co-defendant Andre Phoenix, 21, arriving at the club at about 9pm before getting into a confrontation with a group of men about four hours later.
About 1am people could be seen clutching their faces and running off the dancefloor after Collins doused them with a liquid.
Clubbers dropped to their knees, shielded their faces with clothing, and rubbed ice on blistered skin.
Collins and Phoenix were identified from the CCTV footage, in which Collins could be seen wearing a Tshirt with the word “candy killer” written on it.
Phoenix, of Tottenham, north London, was arrested on April 21 but acquitted.
Collins went on the run and was not apprehended until several days later hiding out in a house in Northants.