Acid Attacker Captured and Beaten By Vigilantes in London

Man stopped by citizens trying to throw acid in East London shop

© press The acid attacker was stopped by vigilantes who beat him in the street

An acid attacker was captured and beaten by vigilantes on a London street as he was about launch a life-altering assault.

Concerned citizens saw the man was about to throw acid in an East London store and managed to apprehend him before he could go through with the attack.

The angry mob proceeded to beat him in the street outside, clearly disgusted with his weapon of choice.

A witness captured the moment the crowd turned on the man as he lays on the floor begging for mercy before he rides away in tears on his bicycle.

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© press Vigilantes beat the acid attacker after preventing the life-altering assault

Daily Mail reports: The suspect is shown being kicked to the ground outside Maryland train station in East London and battered with a plank of wood before having milk poured over him.

A mob claim to have caught him shortly after he had thrown acid inside a shop after someone refused to hand over some change.

© Press The acid attacker begged for mercy as he lay on the ground surrounded by vigilantes

He manages to get back to his feet after the beating before fleeing the scene on his rental bike.

The witness who filmed the attack, who asked to remain anonymous, said:

'I saw someone on a bike wearing a mask go up to a guy coming out of the shop and say "Boss, give me some change".

'The guy he was talking to politely declined and then he said "at least let me take a drink", but the guy told him to go away.

'He then got off the bike and went straight for his pocket, pulled out a bottle and started throwing the substance inside the shop towards the guy's direction.

'He ended up taking the bottle and throwing it away then he and his pals started beating him up.

'He got up wobbling everywhere then went in his pocket and took the knife out. Then he jumped on his bike and rode off.

'Some of the substance hit the other guy in the eyes and he was complaining about having irritated eyes so we gave him water to wash his eyes and got him a cab to the hospital.'

© press The acid attacker threatened the angry mob with a knife

It comes amid soaring rates of acid attacks across Britain, with more than one a day recorded in London alone last year.

Joanne Rand became the first person to be murdered with acid in the UK after she was splashed from head to toe by Xeneral Webster in June 2017.

© press The attacker fled the scene in tears on his bicycle

And last December, Arthur Collins - the ex-boyfriend of reality TV star Ferne McCann - was jailed for 20 years for an acid attack in a nightclub in Dalston, East London.

Footage of the latest incident was filmed by a witness, who shared it on Facebook.

It shows the alleged acid attacker lying face down in the road outside Maryland railway station in Stratford, surrounded by a group of men.

As he stands up a man kicks him back to the tarmac and somebody in the crowd shouts: 'Kill him, bro.'

Another man attempts to intervene but the first man continues to kick and stomp him while he is down, making him scream out in pain.

The cameraman warns: 'Yo, if you bring acid ever again.'

A second man then douses the suspect with what appears to be milk and boots him in the back.

The crowd shouts: 'Kill him, bruv. P****.' Somebody then strikes him with a plank of wood.

A second video shows the man back on his feet appearing to threaten the mob as somebody says: 'He has a knife in his hand. Leave him.'

They then back off as he gets on his yellow rental bike and pedals away.

The Metropolitan Police said it could find no record of the incident having been reported.

© press Acid attacks on the rise in London and leave victims disfigured for life

Cruel assaults that have left victims disfigured for life

In recent years the headlines have been dominated by several high-profile acid attacks.

Model and presenter Katie Piper was brutally attacked by a man enlisted by her ex-boyfriend, David Lynch. In 2008 Stefan Sylvestre threw sulphuric acid at Miss Piper’s face.

The attack was caught on CCTV and both men were jailed indefinitely in 2009. Miss Piper had 250 operations to reconstruct her face.

© press British model and TV presenter Katie Piper was attacked with acid by a man hired by her ex

Last November, the ex-boyfriend of reality TV star Ferne McCann was jailed for 20 years for a horrific nightclub acid attack which left 22 revelers injured.

Arthur Collins hurled acid across a dance floor at the Mangle E8 club in east London last April.

Collins was convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent and nine counts of actual bodily harm.

In June last year, a woman celebrating her 21st birthday suffered ‘life-changing’ injuries after a man hurled acid at her and her cousin.

Resham Khan suffered injuries to her face, eyes, and legs after John Tomlin threw the corrosive substance over the pair as they sat in a car in east London.

It happened after Miss Khan’s cousin Jameel Muhktar had an argument with Tomlin, who was jailed for 16 years in April.

Berlinah Wallace was jailed for life in May after her 2015 acid attack on ex-lover Mark van Dongen in Bristol left him with such terrible injuries that he ended his life at a euthanasia clinic.

In July Xeneral Webster, 19, was jailed for 17 years for manslaughter for killing dementia nurse Joanne Rand in Frogmoor, High Wycombe.

Ms. Rand was splashed with acid and died 11 days later from multiple organ failure after contracting due to the burns.

It was the UK's first acid attack killing.