A MAN WHO squirted acid in a crowded nightclub injuring over 20 people has been jailed for 20 years and will serve a further five years on licence.
Arthur Collins, aged 25, the ex-partner of reality star Ferne McCann, sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court today.
Collins was found guilty of five counts of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and nine counts of assault causing actual bodily harm.
Police were called to Mangle event venue on Warburton Road in Hackney at around 1.15pm on 17 April following reports of people injured by a noxious substance.
A total of 22 people reported injuries to police – of whom 16 suffered serious burn injuries.
During the five-week trial, the court heard that Collins got into an altercation with a group of men on the dancefloor just before 1am.
Collins was captured on CCTV grabbing a bottle containing the noxious substance from the back pocket of an unidentified man and forcefully throwing the substance towards the face of one of the men he was arguing with, with no regard for other partygoers standing in close proximity.
As the first man dropped down to the floor in pain, Collins then squirted the contents of the bottle twice more.
Victims described seeing “steam” rise above them and there being a chemical smell which made them choke.
During the trial, the jury heard reference to a message Collins sent six days prior to the attack to his sister, in which he warned: “Mind that little hand wash in my car – acid.”
Collins claimed in court that the message referred to a shampoo containing amino acid and coconut oil that he was worried about his nieces finding and biting it.
Following the incident, detectives from Hackney launched an investigation and carried out extensive enquiries. Collins was quickly identified as the prime suspect.
He was arrested at an address in Rushden, Northamptonshire on Saturday 22 April, after evading attempts by officers to locate and detain him, following a media appeal naming him as wanted by police.
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