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Police are investigating a spate of five acid attacks in east London.

The attacks, in Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington, are all believed to have taken place within the space of just over an hour, between 10.25pm and 11.37pm on Thursday.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed they have arrested a male teenager on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and robbery.

At the start of the spree, a 32-year-old moped driver had been approached by two men, also on a moped, as he drove on the Hackney Road junction with Queensbridge Road.

A Facebook user posted footage on Thursday night which he claimed was taken shortly after the attack on Hackney Road showing a man being washed down with water by police officers.

(Image: PA)

The two male suspects allegedly tossed the noxious substance into his face before one of them jumped on to his vehicle and drove away.

Police said the man had gone to an east London hospital and they were awaiting an update on his injuries.

Police attended a second incident 40 minutes later, at 11.05pm, where an individual had allegedly been attacked by two men on a moped.

No further details have been given about the identity of the victim, who was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

One witness claimed Uber delivery drivers had been targeted.

(Image: Google Maps)

Within 15 minutes, at 11.18pm, police attended a similar incident in Hackney where a man had a corrosive substance thrown in his face.

He is being treated in an east London hospital where his injuries are described as life-changing.

The final alleged assault of the night was reported to police at 11.37pm, when another man is believed to have been confronted as he sat on his moped in traffic on Chatsworth Road.

After again spraying the liquid in a victim's face, the moped was allegedly stolen and both suspects fled.

Following the incidents in Hackney, officers were made aware of a similar attack reported in Islington.

At 10.49pm, a man had a corrosive substance thrown in his face by two suspects on a moped in Upper Street junction with Highbury Corner.

The Met Police said in a statement: "Inquiries are ongoing and officers from Hackney are currently trying to trace the suspects concerned."

Last month, a hospital worker was sprayed in the face with acid by moped thievs outside a hospital where three other burns victims had been treated in the space of an hour.

Syed Nadeem was leaving Whipps Cross when four masked men on two mopeds screeched towards him.

One shouted: “Give me your money or I’ll cut your throat” before they squirted a liquid at the 44-year-old and stole his rucksack.

The dad-of-three told the Evening Standard: "One of them pulled a drinking bottle out of his waistband.

"I raised my arms so most of it hit my jacket but it splashed on to my face. I didn’t know what it was until I felt the burning sensation."