Solicitor warns: ‘Acid is new weapon of choice’

ACID is replacing knives and guns as the ‘weapon of choice’ on the streets, the Greater Manchester solicitor representing victims of the Mangle nightclub attack has warned.

Leading litigation specialist Ayesha Nayyar was speaking after Arthur Collins, ex-boyfriend of TOWIE star Ferne McCann, was this week found guilty of injuring 14 revellers after spraying acid onto a packed dance floor at the club in Dalston, East London in April.

Ms Nayyar, of Cheadle-based Nay- yars Solicitors, is representing two of the most seriously injured victims in a planned civil case against the nightclub owners.

She said: “The injuries the victims have received are horrific. They have suffered horrific scarring across their faces, necks and backs. One of my clients has suffered a partial loss of hearing. But the psychological symptoms have also hit home. Flashbacks mean they are scared to go out.

“It is something they are going to live with every day. Acid used to be mainly used by gangs or in revenge attacks, but it is now becoming the weapon of choice for anyone who wants to cause injury. If I wanted to get hold of a gun, for instance, it would be almost impossible, but acid is very easy to get hold of and it is very, very dangerous.

“The victims in Mangle have described it feeling like their skin was being ripped. They said they heard a hissing sound, like a Coke can opening, as the acid burnt their skin.

“It’s terrifying. We had a spate of gun crime in Manchester in the 80s and 90s and acid could spread here too.”

Collins, 25, who admitted throwing the liquid but had claimed he believed it was a date rape drug, will be sentenced next month after being found guilty of five counts of GBH with intent, and nine counts of ABH.

Last month two bouncers at The White Hotel nightclub in Lower Broughton were treated in hospital for burns after a suspected acid attack.

At the Conservative Party conference in Manchester in October, Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced plans to ban the sale of acid to under 18s and also suggested new laws could be introduced to target people caught carrying acid – modelled on a similar crackdown on knife possession, which now carries a maximum four-year jail term.