Acid attack victim says he cannot forgive attackers after one wrote him an apology letter

A man who had acid thrown in his face has said he cannot forgive his attackers as he called for tougher sentences to curb the rise in assaults involving corrosive substances.

Wayne Ingold, 57, was sprayed with sulphuric acid by two teenagers in Witham, Essex, in August 2014 in a case of mistaken identity.

Aarron Isaac, 19, and Jake McCabe, 16, were found guilty of throwing a corrosive liquid with intent to cause grievous bodily harm following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court last year. They were detained for 10 years and six years respectively.

Wayne said he felt “disdain and disgust” towards his attackers and had received a letter from attacker Jake asking for forgiveness.

The-father-of-two said: “Can I forgive the boy? No I can’t. He’s going to be out in two years. I’m scarred for the rest of my life.”

Wayne described the “unbearable pain” he suffered in the attack which happened after he went to collect his post from a communal area at his block of flats.

He heard someone banging on the door and after a brief exchange, the teenagers threw sulphuric acid at him and ran off.

“At first, naively, I thought it was like a Lucozade because it was an orange, yellow colour,” he said. “I thought stupidly; ‘Why the hell are you throwing juice over me?’

“Within seconds it took me back to my school days in the chemistry lab because I could smell the vapours of acid.

“When it hit my skin, the pain was unbearable. I put my hand up to protect my face. I turned to run back to my flat and they kept chucking it on the back of my neck.

“I ran into my en-suite. I panicked I was in so much pain. It was eating away at me.

“I looked in the mirror and my face had turned yellow. It looked like melted candle wax.

”Wayne said he called the emergency services and one police officer who arrived on the scene was “physically sick” when he saw his injuries.

He was forced to undergo major skin grafts on his face, neck, back and hand.

“I lost my home because I was too scared to go back to my flat in Witham,” he said.

“For a good few weeks afterwards, I wouldn’t go out at all. Even now I’m always looking over my shoulder.

“My face at the time was all black down the side and people were staring and pointing. That’s really embarrassing.

“Wayne said a “stronger deterrent” was needed to tackle the rise in violent crimes involving corrosive substances.

“You can be any age and buy chemicals from big stores because it’s battery acid or drain cleaner,” he said.

“There has to be some sort of age restriction because they’re doing serious damage, they’re blinding people, they’re ruining people’s lives.

“At the minute you can get anything from a fine to life. That’s a big gap. It depends on the severity of the crime.

“There has to be a stronger deterrent because these crimes are on the rise. It’s got ridiculous now. One day someone will get killed.”