Violence crimes involving acid and other corrosive liquids have soared by 30% in the last two years.
Police have recorded more than 500 offences in which people were injured or threatened with harmful substances since 2012, an investigation by the Press Association found.
They included 242 reports of violent crime which mentioned acid or other corrosive substances across 23 forces in 2014 and 2015, compared with 186 alleged offences in 2012 and 2013.
One acid attack victim said he believed criminals were using corrosive substances as a “cheaper alternative” to guns and knives.
Wayne Ingold, 57, had sulphuric acid thrown at his face at his block of flats in Witham, Essex, in 2014 in a case of mistaken identity.
The father of two said: “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.
“We had gun crime and knife crime – acid seems to be a cheaper alternative. How would these people feel if a member of their family was the victim?”
The Press Association sent Freedom Of Information requests to every police force in the UK asking how many assaults had been recorded involving acid or other corrosive substances since 2012.
Some forces provided details of all violent crime reports mentioning corrosive liquids including threats when the substance may not have been used. A number of forces provided their total number of offences since 2012 but did not break down the figures for each year.
In total, 503 offences in which people were injured or threatened with corrosive substances were recorded by forces between 2012 and November 2015, according to the police figures.
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