Several teens suffered burns when an angry neighbour poured an acid-like substance onto them as they partied in the courtyard of a Manhattan public housing complex.

The New York Times described the substance as a combination of white paint and a caustic chemical, possibly drain cleaner.

Valerie Vail, one of the victim's mothers, told the paper that the substance caused dime and quarter size burns across her daughter's upper body.

The party had been advertised on social media and drew around 300 young people to the basement of a public housing complex in Manhattan's East Village.

However, Hayward Walker, the building's tenant association president, said that the space had not been properly rented out. Revellers, accompanied by blasting music, ultimately spilled out into the courtyard of the complex, prompting residents to call the police.

Before the police arrived though, one resident had apparently had enough and the harmful concoction rained down on the teens causing them to rush the front doors of the complex. Many found refuge in local bodegas and attempted to douse their burns with milk.

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