Acid attacks that ‘devastate lives’ increase by 45 per cent in London

There were 107 acid attacks last year, up from 74 in 2001
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Esther Afrifa, 28, was jailed after pouring acid over Kelvin Pogo, at the home they shared in Wembley
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John Dunne @jhdunne19 October 2023
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Acid attacks have risen in London by 45 per cent in a year, according to figures from the Metropolitan Police.

The force recorded 107 attacks in 2022, up from 74 in 2021.

The data was released by the charity Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) after a freedom of information request.

London had the second highest number of recorded attacks in England and Wales in 2022 after Northumbria, ASTI reported.

Newham was the borough with the highest number of attacks with eight recorded offences, followed by Haringey with seven and then both Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham with six each.

The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Alexis Boon said attacks using corrosive substances "devastate lives".

She added they often cause "psychological trauma to survivors that will last a lifetime".

In one shocking case Esther Afrifa, 28, bought a litre of sulphuric acid online to carry out the attack on Kelvin Pogo, hiding it by her bedside at the home they shared in Wembley, northwest London. She was jailed for the attack in November 2021.

Meanwhile the figures revealed that in England and Wales the attacks rose 69 per cent in 2022 compared with the previous year.

Jaf Shah, executive director at ASTI, said: "The need for prevention is greater than ever.

"We know that the best way to end acid violence is to prevent it from happening in the first place, by addressing its root causes."

He said the charity was launching a prevention project to educate young people about the risks of acid attacks on the victim and attacker. The cost to the capital in the aftermath of the attacks was an estimated £6m.

It found a single attack costs £63,000 in medical and social support for the victim, costs to the police and to the judicial and penal systems.

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