Worcester acid attack: Boy, 3, was 'deliberately targeted' by thugs as he sat in pushchair, police reveal

Police want to speak to three men in connection with the incident
PA
Fiona Simpson22 July 2018
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A three-year-old boy injured in an “evil” acid attack in Worcester was sitting in a pushchair when he was “deliberately” targeted by thugs, police have revealed.

The toddler may suffer life-changing injuries after a corrosive substance was “thrown or sprayed” over him in Home Bargains on Saturday.

West Mercia Police said the child, who was treated for burns to his hands and arm, was released on Sunday afternoon and is now recovering at home.

Chief Superintendent Mark Travis told Sky News: “We are uncertain about the long-term implications of those burns, but we do hope that these won't be life-changing injuries."

Police want to speak to these three men in connection with the incident
PA

Ch Supt Travis renewed the appeal for information about three men seen in images released by police.

"We are really, really keen that the images we have released will hopefully bring forward information about people who may be able to help us, who were in the store at the time of the incident.

"If those people can come forward or people could identify those people it will help us understand the motivation for this," he said.

He said the men were in the shop at the time of the attack and were "in very close proximity to the little boy".

The attack happened at Home Bargains in Shrub Hill Retail Park in Worcester
PA

They left the store in the direction of the city centre and he urged anyone who has seen "anything discarded in the area" to come forward.

A 39-year-old man from Wolverhampton has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm and remains in police custody.

Worcester City Council leader Marc Bayliss described the attack as "absolutely pure evil".

He added: "I have never heard of an acid attack in Worcester so this is absolutely not something we have any experience of."

Worcester MP Robin Walker said the attack was "horrific", and added: "The shock will be universal, anyone conducting such an attack on a small child is just appalling."

The incident occurred at around 2.15pm on Saturday in the Home Bargains store on the Shrub Hill Retail Park in Tallow Hill.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said a crew arrived at the scene in eight minutes and "liaised with the trust's hazardous area response team for specialist advice".

A local shop worker, who did not want to be named, said he saw a number of emergency services at the store on Saturday and two police officers were stationed outside on Sunday.

The deputy leader of Worcester City Council, Adrian Gregson, said he was in the shop next door shortly after the attack.

He told the Press Association: "I was in the shop next door when it was going on, it was around mid-afternoon.

"There were a couple of fire engines and a fire incident vehicle and a police car."

A Home Bargains spokeswoman said: "Our thoughts are with this young child and his family at this very difficult time."

A shopper who left the store shortly before the child was injured said police, fire and ambulance crews arrived within minutes.

The man, who asked not to be named, said: "To think of a three-year-old being hit by acid in Worcester is just horrific.

"Shoppers were asked to leave the store and then staff were too, while the emergency services did what they were doing inside. People just can't believe it has happened."

Staff leaving the store on Sunday said they had been instructed not to speak to the media.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in