Fears mounting over acid attacks

Police have revealed that an unknown substance was used in an assault in Wigan earlier this year, in which the victim luckily avoided hospital treatment.

But this is the first attack of its kind in the borough in the past three years and officers are trying to help people as fear rises that incidents will increase as many corrosive substances can be bought over the counter.

Details of what happened only emerged following a Freedom of Information request by the Wigan Post.

Precise information about the date and time of the assault have not been released in order to protect the identity of the victim, but a spokeperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Argument in the street, offender throws an unknown substance in the direction of the aggrieved party. An unknown substance hits the back of aggrieved party’s jumper, no injuries were sustained.”

A soar in attackers who use acid or alkaline during attacks, has recently been highlighted following a number of incidents in Manchester and London. In a high-profile case, 21-year-old Manchester Metropolitan University student Resham Khan and her cousin Jameel Muhktar, 37, were left with life-changing injuries after having acid thrown into their faces during a trip to London.

The NHS has also revealed that the number of people needing specialist treatment for acid burns has doubled over the past three years.

Health chiefs have partnered up with leading burns surgeons who have treated acid attack victims to issue first aid guidance, instructing the public to “report, remove, rinse”: Report the attack: dial 999. Remove contaminated clothing carefully. Rinse skin immediately in running water.

To report suspicious behaviour call police on 101.