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TOWIE star Ferne McCann's ex Arthur Collins has been handed a 25-year sentence over a nightclub acid attack that left 14 revellers seriously burnt.

The thug, 25, threw the corrosive liquid over people enjoying a night out over the Easter weekend while celebrating news Ferne was pregnant with his child.

Collins - branded an "accomplished and calculating liar" by the judge - was found guilty last month of five counts of GBH and nine of ABH over the incident.

And today, he was sentenced to a total of 25 years at a north London court. He was given 20 years behind bars and a five-year extended licence.

One of his victims said she was "pleased" with the sentence, saying: "Arthur's actions are something he has to live with. We have to live with the scars."

Sentencing Collins at Wood Green Crown Court, Judge Noel Lucas QC ordered him to serve at least two thirds of his sentence before he can be considered for parole.

The judge described the attack as "deliberate and calculated".

(Image: PA) (Image: Met Police)

He said an "extended sentence" was essential "to protect the public from further harm" following the defendant's "despicable" and "cowardly" crime.

Collins looked pale as his sentence was read out.

However, he managed to wink at his family as he was led to the cells.

There were cries of "love you Arthur" as he was taken away.

Collins, who is the father of Ferne's baby daughter, hurled the substance over the crowd at the Mangle E8 nightclub in Dalston, east London, on April 17.

Revellers were left falling to their knees in agony and screaming.

During Collins's sentencing hearing, it was revealed he once threatened to have a former girlfriend's mum raped and acid thrown in her face - four years before the nightclub horror.

(Image: fernemccann/Instagram) (Image: PA)

And the thug finally apologised for his actions - brazenly labelling the acid attack a "silly little mistake" in a letter to the court.

He admitted throwing a bottle of fluid over clubbers at the nightclub during Easter weekend - but claimed he did not know it was acid.

The judge ruled Collins's version of events was "a lie" and said the thug was motivated to throw the acid by a "trivial slight" during an argument with another man in the club.

His previous convictions include public order offences, criminal damage, possession of cocaine, drink-driving and ABH.

Three of Collins's acid victims made emotional statements to the court about the impact of that night on their lives.

Sophie Hall, who was out celebrating pal Lauren Trent's 22nd birthday, said: "I knew my face was a mess. I could feel it in my hands.

(Image: PA)

"It was all blistered... I knew I would be scarred for life."

Miss Trent added: "At 1.45am my parents got a phone call.

"Imagine that phone call from your daughter on her 22nd birthday and you are two hours away, unable to get there and you can only listen."

And Phoebe Georgiou addressed Collins directly in the dock, telling him: "I mourn the old Phoebe. I grieve for her every day.

"(The night of the attack was) the day my old life was taken from me. Physically and mentally I will never be the same.

"You couldn't find a shred of human decency to admit what you had done. I have been given a life sentence by you."

The thug could not look at her as she addressed him in court.

(Image: Gustavo Valiente Herrero) (Image: PA)

Ahead of the sentencing, Collins claimed he was broke with earnings of just £7,000 last year.

But Judge Lucas questioned how, therefore, Collins could afford two mortgages and Harley Street hair transplants, adding: "If I sound sceptical of the information I'm being given, it's because I am. I don't believe a word of it."

The judge said Collins threw the acid "not caring in the least who it would land on or the damage it would cause".

"His contrived defence shows him to be an accomplished and calculating liar. He has demonstrated not the slightest remorse," he said.

Collins claimed during his trial he thought the acid was a date rape drug, which he had snatched from two men after overhearing them planning to spike a girl's drink.

Two revellers were partially blinded and others were left disfigured in the attack, which jurors heard was planned by Collins and co-defendant Andre Phoenix.

(Image: Rex Features)

Phoenix was found not guilty of all charges by the jury after three days of deliberation.

The judge said it was an "exceptional" case because of the circumstances and the "severity" of the injuries he inflicted on numerous clubbers.

He said at an earlier hearing: "I am conscious of the fact he (Collins) has a previous conviction for assault. Not nearly as serious an assault, but nevertheless still assault in a club.

"On this occasion he has been convicted in relation to a great number of individuals.

"And there are others who were also injured at this event, who don't form part of the indictment."

And sentencing Collins today, the judge told him: "This was a despicable act. You knew precisely what strong acid would do to human skin.

"Having thrown the acid over the club you slunk away and hid in the rear and pretended to be nothing to do with the mayhem you had caused."

"In my judgement it was deliberate and calculated and you were intent on causing really serious harm to your victims.

"I have concluded that you meet the dangerousness criteria. I have concluded I must pass an extended sentence to protect the public from further harm from you."

Collins was told he must serve two-thirds of the custodial part of his sentence in custody with the extra five years on licence.

The defendant was convicted last month of injuring 14 people, after charges involving two other people were dropped during the trial.

CCTV showed him and Phoenix arriving at the club at about 9pm before getting into a confrontation with a group of men around four hours later.

At about 1am, people were seen clutching their faces and running off the dance-floor after Collins doused them with a liquid.

Clubbers dropped to their knees, shielded their faces with clothing, and rubbed ice on blistered skin.

(Image: PA)

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The substance was later found to have contained a liquid with a rating of pH1, indicating a strong acid.

Victims described a burning smell and their skin "blistering straight away" before everyone started "screaming, shouting, running".

Collins sent a text to his sister one week before the attack which read: "Tell mum to mind that little hand wash in my car - acid."

He later told the jury the "hand wash" was actually a hair-thickening shampoo containing amino acid and coconut oil which he kept in his car so Miss McCann did not find out about his hair loss.

Miss Hall suffered horrific burns when she was hit by the corrosive liquid.

She now says her face is "ruined" and the vision in her left eye is blurry.

Speaking about the attack, she previously said: "It smelt like petrol and it hit me and was the most awful burning and stinging sensation.

“There was panic and shouting and I just started crying because my face felt as if it was on fire.

(Image: Isobella Fraser)

(Image: Isobella Fraser)

"My friends grabbed me and took me to the toilets and security gave us bottles of water to pour on our faces.

"Then I looked in the mirror and saw how disfigured my face was.

“The acid had run down my cheeks and burnt into my skin. I was hysterical.”

Today, Miss Hall said that although Collins's victims were hoping he would get a life sentence, she was "pleased" with his 20-year jail term.

Another victim - Isobella Fraser, 22, a model from Sydney who was visiting her sister in London - previously shared photos of her injuries on Instagram.

Collins claimed he overheard described an argument between men plotting to spike a woman's drink, causing him to snatch the bottle and throw the substance at them before shouting "d***heads".

But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Collins knew what he was doing when he used acid as a weapon.

Lily Saw, from the CPS London, said: "Our prosecution proved this acid attack was no accident.

(Image: Julia Quenzler / SWNS.com)

"Arthur Collins went to a nightclub with a container which he knew contained strong acid and was willing to use it.

"Acid can be as much of a weapon as a knife with equally damaging consequences, and many of the victims of this attack suffered very serious injuries.

"There is understandable concern about this issue, and these convictions show that those who choose to use acid as a weapon can expect to face very serious criminal charges."

During his evidence, Collins said his then girlfriend Ferne had revealed her pregnancy to her family at a BBQ just hours before the attack.

Phoenix, of Tottenham, north London, was caught on CCTV apparently holding Collins' arms as he sprayed the liquid at revellers on April 17.

But the 21-year-old, a semi-professional cage fighter, insisted he had no idea anybody was carrying acid.

(Image: PA)

In his evidence, he told the jury that he had only stepped in to separate Collins and another male when they started squaring up to one another.

Phoenix said he would just "knock them out" if someone angered him, adding "I don't roll with acid."

He was also burned by the substance and was captured on CCTV asking Collins to examine his face and washing himself with a bottle of water.

Phoenix attended the Whittington Hospital in Archway, north London, the following day for treatment. He was acquitted of four counts of grievous bodily harm and two of actual bodily harm after trial.

Collins and Phoenix were identified from the CCTV footage, in which Collins could be seen wearing a T-shirt with the word "candy killer" written on it.

Phoenix was among those seated in the public gallery to watch him be sentenced.

In mitigation for Collins, George Carter-Stephenson QC said: "He feels literally as if the entire world has turned against him."

The barrister said the confrontation in the Hackney nightclub developed "very rapidly", adding: "It's not planned, it's not organised.

"It's a stupid, thoughtless reaction, and one which Mr Collins now bitterly regrets."