Data obtained by the Guardian shows a worrying rise in assaults using corrosive substances, while many incidents still go unreported

The number of admissions to hospitals as a result of attacks using a corrosive substance, such as sulphuric acid, has almost doubled in the last 10 years, new data reveals.

Amid rising concerns about acid attacks, statistics obtained by the Guardian from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) show that in 2004-05 there were 55 stays in hospital caused by them in England. But provisional data for the most recent period, 2014-15, shows this has risen to 106 admissions.

In one recent incident, Carla Whitlock, a 37-year-old mother of six, suffered serious burns after she was attacked with acid in Guildhall Square, Southampton, on 18 September. Two brothers were charged by police on Wednesday.

The Guardian has spoken to victims, community workers, support groups, ex members of gangs, and the police – and all warned that such attacks were of increasing concern. One male former gang member said: “Young gang members are more ruthless than they used to be. It’s now become part of the natural thought process to use acid; it’s on the roster.”

Analysis of the data also reveals a trend which surprised experts, with the biggest age group of victims being those over 75, who accounted for 253 of the 925 total admissions in the last 10 years. The figures refer not to people but admittances and it could be that older victims need more visits for treatment, and that such attacks on older people have been surrounded in secrecy and have been under-reported.



It is believed the real overall figures may be much higher because some victims do not report attacks and because hospitals are not forced to record the reasons for burns. A female victim who the Guardian spoke to described how she had been followed by a stranger before being attacked and was too scared to go to the police.

Acid attacks on the rise in UK, according to victim report figures Read more

Six in 10 of all victims were male, while 71% described their ethnic origin as white British, the figures show (white British, according to the 2011 census, accounts for 80% of the British population in England and Wales). Globally, an estimated 80% of victims are women.

Jaf Shah, the executive director of the support group Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI), said: “Looking at the data in general, there is a fairly large probability that a high percentage of the incidents are male on male attacks and most likely to be gang related. The numbers appear to be very high and suggest an increase, which is very concerning.”

Kwambe Ibegbuna, a social worker and community activist in Manchester, said acid attacks were becoming more common – not just among gangs but in cases of domestic violence and also for intimidation. “I’ve had people tell me they wanted to leave a mark, others say they were attacked because they rejected people’s sexual advances. The stories vary greatly but the most consistent feature is to ensure the victim is traumatised greatly by the experience and that power has been exerted.”

A woman from West Yorkshire, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she had acid thrown at her two years ago by a man she had never met before but who had followed her home twice before the attack. “The third time it happened, I felt really intimidated. I turned around to see who it was and he was standing there with a bottle and bag looking at me. I didn’t know what was in it.

“I turned around and carried on walking, this time at a pace. But he just followed.

I looked over my shoulder again and that’s when it happened. It was so fast​​, he threw the liquid at me

“I looked over my shoulder again and that’s when it happened. It was so fast, he threw the liquid at me. It hit my neck. I’ve never felt something so strong, it was a really strange sensation, as if something was breaking through my skin. I was so distressed but I didn’t want my family to find out, so I ran home.

“My neck started to blister. I frantically tried to wash it off with water in the bathroom sink, but that seemed to make it worse. I know it sounds terrible but I tried to pick at it, just to get it off my skin. For the next two weeks I didn’t go out, I was in total shock. I was worried about my mum finding out.

The woman said she did not tell the police because she thought the man who attacked her was very well connected in the community. “I just didn’t want any backlash. It’s just me and my mum you see ... I didn’t want her to be attacked.

“I still feel self-conscious and nervous if I go out of the house, and I’m afraid of strangers.

“I was walking in the same area three months ago and I saw him again. I was petrified. He just said to me, ‘I’m sorry’. I said ‘It’s OK’ and hurriedly walked away. My family have never found out. I still don’t know why he did it.”

The former gang member said using acid had become more acceptable and was not seen as a “big deal”.

He said: “People don’t think of the consequences. It’s easy to buy most of the ingredients legally … One of my cousins was done a few years ago. He was attacked on his shoulder and my uncle just dressed it for him at home. Acid is used as an extreme mark of dominance. It’s letting the individual know I haven’t killed you, but it’s almost worse than that, it’s a mark – on your face. It’s a sinister legacy.”

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He was sceptical about the government’s chances of reducing the number of incidents. “Acid violence has become part of society. We need honest conversations about relationships earlier with our young people. Men no longer are trained to love and respect women. If you don’t get what you want it’s not OK to act like this.

“Young men need to be educated on how to sort out disputes with other young men without resorting to violence. We need to work out why these young people are so unhappy.”

Deputy chief constable Andy Cooke, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on violence and public protection, said he believed the number of attacks was underreported.

“Although the Guardian’s statistics do show an increase, I’m also sure that some offences of this type are not reported as a crime to the police. I would urge anyone who is a victim of this type of attack to report it so that we can deal with the matter positively and sensitively.

“It is virtually impossible to ban the sale of all corrosive substances, as many are household products. In recent years, the police service has made great inroads in tackling violent crime and has consistently worked to significantly enhance its intelligence picture. Intelligence coupled with consistent risk assessment and offender profiling may give us the opportunity to help reduce this type of offending in the future.”

One criminal law expert, Dr Loretta Trickett, of Nottingham Trent University, said the way data on acid attacks was collected “varies considerably in terms of how incidents are classified and whether persons or incidents are counted”, adding “This means is difficult to gauge the extent of the problem and speculation is inevitable.”

Separate to the HSCIC data, freedom of information requests revealed that 3 out of the 32 burns centres in England and Scotland do not currently code for these attacks.

Sarah Wollaston, the Conservative MP, who is a former GP, said: “It’s important to understand which groups are being targeted and that is difficult if these admissions and crimes are not being consistently and accurately recorded.”

The HSCIC data showed 12 admissions involved children under 10 years old, and 21 admissions for those aged between 10 and 17.

However, Shah said: “The most startling and shocking figure relates to the number of over-75s. This is a particularly vulnerable group.



“ASTI’s experience of working with local partners in low-income countries is that many victims of attack are reluctant to come forward and report the attacks for fear of reprisals.”



We need to understand what is going on ​-​– is this hidden hate crime, domestic violence, or something else? Gary FitzGerald

Gary FitzGerald, the chief executive of the charity Action on Elder Abuse, said: “These figures are horrifying. Although we see multiple instances of abuse reported to our helpline each year we have received no reports of this nature. We need to understand what is going on – is this hidden hate crime, domestic violence, or something else? We need an urgent inquiry by the government into what is going on, why, and what needs to be done about it.”

The Guardian put all the concerns raised around acid attacks to the Home Office. A spokesperson for the department said: “We want to get a true picture of this type of crime and we need victims to know they can come forward with the confidence their allegation will be taken seriously and be properly investigated by police. This government puts the highest emphasis on the needs of victims. We have given victims more rights under the victims’ code, and will reinforce this by putting key entitlements in law.

“There’s no place in society for these sickening attacks and perpetrators face a life sentence if they are convicted.”



The FOI figures show that the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham has treated the largest number of victims since 2004, with 69 patients. The Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle treated 44 people, the St Andrews Centre in Essex 24, Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London 20, and Glasgow Royal Infirmary 19.