LBC has learned there are three acid attacks in London every week.
A total of 83 cases have been recorded by the Met police so far this year.
The issue came to attention when Resham Khan was attacked with acid last month as she was sitting in her car on her 21st birthday in Beckton, east London.
That crime is being treated by police as a hate crime and police are hunting for John Tomlin in connection with the attack.
Now an acid attack victim from Dagenham has told LBC the law needs so people who carry acid have the same punishment as those carrying knives.
Imran had acid squirted in his face while delivering a pizza in Dagenham last November. And he’s told LBC the law isn’t tough enough on attackers.
He said: “I actually ID-ed the guy and he got arrested. But the police took no further action as there was ‘insufficient evidence’.
“I’ve seen him today. When I went to go to the shops, he was hanging around in the same palce. He grins at me. He’s literally got away with it.”
Imran says acid attacks cause as much damage as knife crime, but without the risk to the perpetrator.
“If someone wants to stab you, they’ve got to come close to you. But with acid, they could be standing two metres away and just squash the bottle. It will do the same amount of damage.”
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More than 300,000 people have signed a petition to make it illegal to buy acid without a licence.
LBC reporter Rachael Venables went to meet the man who started the petition, Sarmad Ismail, outside a hardware shop.
He told her he was shocked to discover how easy it is to buy acid after hearing of attacks on two Muslim cousins in Beckton last month.
He told Rachael: “You put sulphuric acid into Google and the results that come up are ‘Concentrated acid neutraliser’, ‘2.5l or Sulphuric acid 96%’, which is £11.95 and will be delivered to your door.
“And what comes to your door can completely destroy a life.
“There should be checks in place, especially on these websites. There should be licencing.
“It’s just as bad as carrying a knife around because if you spray that substance on someone’s face, it will cause lasting damage for years to come.”
Jaf Shah from Acid Survivors Trust International has told LBC that corrosive substances are far too easy to buy.
He said: “Concentrated forms of acid can be purchased from most hardware stores. In fact, a litre can be purchased for as little as £7-8.
“So if you introduce tighter controls around the sale of acid, that will deter a number of would-be perpetrators.”
Reference: LBC.co.uk
