Hackney club acid attack: Woman was blinded in one eye

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Arthur CollinsImage source, Met Police
Image caption,

Police are searching for Arthur Collins who is wanted for questioning over the attack

A woman who was sprayed in the face with acid during an attack in an east London nightclub has been blinded in one eye, police have revealed.

The 22-year-old was one of 20 people who suffered burns when the substance was sprayed at the Mangle E8 club in Hackney, east London on Monday.

Arthur Collins, 25, from Hertfordshire, the boyfriend of TV celebrity Ferne McCann, is wanted for questioning.

Investigating officers have arrested three people in Hertfordshire.

A 33-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of firearms offences and is in custody in a north London police station.

Image source, Ferne McCann/Facebook
Image caption,

Ferne McCann says she was not with Arthur Collins on the night the attack happened

The others were held when officers went to Mr Collins' home in Broxbourne and found a cannabis farm and illegal firearms.

A spokesman for Hertfordshire Police said the 54-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of cultivation of cannabis.

'It was just a normal night out'

One of the victims of the acid attack on Monday night told BBC 5 live: "It was just a normal night out. To be involved in something like that… it annoys me, especially when you're just minding your own business and just going about what you normally do."

She added that she was not aware of a fight or argument breaking out until she was burned.

"I didn't clock until I got burned which is annoying because If there is an argument or a fight then my natural instinct is to walk away. I don't get myself involved in anything like that.

"So if I heard an argument I would have walked away straight away but there wasn't an argument, there wasn't a fight. The minute it happened was when I knew. I thought water had just been thrown or alcohol or something like that."

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, added: "My burns and what I've got are not ideal and I hate the fact that they are going to scar and that I'm in pain with them.

"But I think what upsets me more is the fact that you are seeing young girls my age and even young men my age that have got scars on their face that you know are going to scar and make a massive impact on their life."

Ms McCann has appealed for Mr Collins to go to a police station.

Scotland Yard believe the acid was sprayed at two men, but hit others, following a dispute between two groups.

The injured men, aged 24 and 29, remain in a specialist burns unit hospital in Essex, both in a serious but stable condition.

Image source, Isobella Fraser
Image caption,

Isobella Fraser was one of those injured in the club

A 22-year-old woman, who was also injured, said the men were black, but their faces were turned white by the acid.

Det Insp Lee McCullough said the "noxious substance used" was still being analysed.

Two other men, as well as Mr Collins, are wanted for questioning over the attack although police have not released any further information about them.

Image source, @PhieMcKenzie
Image caption,

Hundreds of people were forced to leave the club in the early hours

Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from the LoveJuice event.

These were reported to include three stars of The Only Way Is Essex - Jamie Reed, Jade Lewis and Chloe Meadows.

The company behind the event tweeted, external it was co-operating with the police investigation.

The acid attack is one of three similar reports made to police in London over the past week.

On Good Friday a carjacking victim was sprayed with a "noxious substance" in Bow, while an 18-year-old man suffered possibly life-changing injuries when he and another woman had a corrosive substance thrown over them in Fulham.

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