Woman suffers life-changing burns after acid is thrown in her face in Canary Wharf

A 26-year-old woman has been left with life-changing burns to her face and leg after acid was thrown at her in East London.

Police say they were called to Westferry Road, Canary Wharf, just before 7pm on Wednesday (27 December) where they found the injured woman.

She told officers she had been walking alone when she was attacked with what police described as a "strong acid solution".

The woman, who has not been publicly named, was taken to hospital with serious burns to her leg and face, described by police as "life changing".

Police have appealed for anyone with information about the attack to come forward. No arrests have been made.

Officers believe the attack happened in Marsh Wall near to South Quay DLR station, before the woman then fled to Westferry Road.

"Enquiries continue to establish the circumstances," a Met Police spokesperson said on Thursday.

"Officers are currently reviewing CCTV and pursuing a number of leads to identify the suspect, who was not seen by the victim.

"If you witnessed this incident or have any information that could assist the investigation, please call Tower Hamlets CID on 0208 754 4550 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."

In October, the Home Office announced plans to ban the sale of acids to anyone under the age of 18.

The Home Office and NPCC also said it planned to commission further research to look at the range of motivations for acid attacks.

The measures came as London saw a 173% rise in the number of attacks involving corrosive or noxious substances between 2014 and 2016, from 166 to 454.

Separate data from 39 police forces across the country also reported 408 such attacks between November 2016 and April 2017.

Bleach was involved in 71 of these incidents, ammonia in 69 and acid in 56. Other stated substances, of which there were 107, included boiling water, lighter fluid, petrol, CS and pepper spray and non-ammonia/bleach household cleaning products.

No information was provided on the liquids used in the remainder of the incidents.