HIGH-RISE HORROR
The only way to stop these vile acid attacks is to make it harder to get acid
IT may surprise you that I recently completed an Advanced First Aid course.
I wouldn’t even have considered it a few years ago, but there’s nothing like being stuck in the middle of a terrorist attack to make you reassess your priorities.
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Being at the House of Lords in March — where five people, including an unarmed police officer, were killed by terrorist Khalid Masood — made me realise I didn’t have the practical skills necessary to help anyone.
That made me feel pretty worthless, so I’m happy to say I am now defibrillator trained.
But there was one aspect of the course I found really disturbing, and that was being briefed on what to do about an acid attack.
The answer to that, by the way, is mainly to get as much water as possible on the skin touched by the acid, for as long as possible, which is good to know.
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But I’m angry that this type of attack is now so common that we NEED to know what to do.
We think of the acid attack as a new crime, it isn’t. Acid has been used as a weapon since Victorian times, then typically used on men by wronged women.
More recently, men have struck at women. Model Katie Piper’s jealous ex arranged for her to be attacked.
Because the injuries caused by acid are life-changing, the consequences are devastating.
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Police figures show that assaults with corrosive substances have increased enormously since 2012.
The vast majority of cases were in London, where there were 454 reported attacks in 2016 — almost triple the number in 2012.
There are a couple of possible reasons for the increase. Firstly, the penalties for carrying knives have got tougher in recent years, which means some thugs are seeking alternative weapons.
Secondly, it is legal to buy strong acid. Drain-cleaning fluids, which can be 95 per cent sulphuric acid, are easier to get hold of than knives.
How you should treat an acid attack victim until emergency services arrive
Carried in a water bottle, it’s nigh on impossible for police to spot. So as a result, attacks are becoming more brazen.
This week Arthur Collins — the ex-boyfriend of Towie star Ferne McCann — was on trial for one of Britain’s worst acid attacks. He injured 22 people by throwing it in a crowded London club.
Collins was found guilty of 14 GBH and ABH charges and told he faces a “substantial” jail term.
Let’s hope it’s substantial enough.
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It’s sad and a bit shocking that the collective moral compass has shifted enough to make this heinous crime move into the mainstream.
We could sit around speculating why until the cows come home. But until we face it head-on and take action, nothing is going to change.
We need to make it utterly unacceptable to inflict such devastating injuries in this way.
There has been some progress. In August, Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, updated her guidance to prosecutors to ensure that the courts had the “widest possible sentencing power” to deal with acid offenders.
Arthur Collins, ex-boyfriend of reality TV star Ferne McCann, guilty of acid attack at London club
Anyone caught carrying acid with intent to commit a crime now faces up to four years in prison, while those who use it in an attack can be charged with GBH with intent, which carries a maximum life sentence.
I still think more needs to be done.
It’s so easy to buy these disfiguring chemicals and anyone doing so should not only be age-tested but able to prove they need it for a specific reason.
Police should also carry litmus paper for on-the-spot testing of suspicious liquids.
Never has it been more true that prevention is better than cure.
Love is all you need, Tamara
THERE’S been a lot of incredulity this week about the gilded life of Tamara Ecclestone and her three-year-old daughter Sophia.
It’s certainly true that the word “excessive” doesn’t even begin to describe this little girl’s life – she really does have everything, including a swimming pool that has been converted into a ball pit and her own stylist, butler and hairdresser.
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Tamara herself thinks it’s normal to have 37 pairs of Chanel espadrilles and they have a house with 50 staff, so this lifestyle is likely to continue for Sophia.
It’s all too easy to criticise and – when the rest of us are doing our own grocery shopping and flying easyJet – feel a tad envious.
But to me, the one thing that really stood out, despite all that excess, is just how loved that child is.
Tamara hasn’t been out with her husband in three years because she won’t leave her daughter, who still sleeps in her bed. And I think Sophia is really happy.
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When you consider the tragic story of the little adopted girl who was shaken to death, the contrasts are painful.
Matthew Scully-Hicks, 31, inflicted a series of injuries on 18-month-old Elsie in eight months. She died four days after being violently shaken by Scully-Hicks, who was recently found guilty of her murder. It is beyond heartbreaking.
This tale of two children brings one thing sharply into focus: What kids need, above everything – including a ball pit and more designer outfits than you can count – is love.
Matthew Scully-Hicks jailed for a minimum of 18 years for murdering his adopted 18-month-old daughter
A terribly ill-judged sentence
IT beggars belief that a trainee primary school teacher who tried to have sex with a 14-year-old boy he met on a gay and bisexual dating app has been spared jail because a judge ruled he “succumbed to temptation”.
Judge Nicholas Cooke, QC, said he was giving Daniel Dulake, 23, “a chance to salvage things from the wreckage” as he gave him an eight-month sentence suspended for two years.
“I’m satisfied that the defendant was interested in sex and that’s what he had in mind if he had met up with (the boy) . . . his interest was surely in sex with relatively young partners and he was tempted – mercifully nothing happened.”
Is this judge insane?
Apology just isn't enough
AFTER denying he’d done it, Louis C.K. issued an apology for pleasuring himself in front of several women.
What annoys me is that he denied these allegations (which apparently were yet another “open secret”) until, in a post-Weinstein climate, it became harder to do so, at which point he said sorry. What he did is an aggressive act.
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He “asked permission” but since he was often in a position of power over these women, they weren’t on a level playing field.
Since his apology, the US actor and comedian has been dropped by both his rep and his management company, HBO has announced it will be cutting him from its Night of Too Many Stars special and his new film I Love You Daddy will not be arriving in our cinemas.
The question is, will “Sorry” be enough to resuscitate his career? I really hope not.
One step forward, two steps back
MAN alive. One day it feels like progress is being made on the old equality front.
The next you see an advert by a company such as Goodwin Smith (they make SHOES), which showed fully clad men accompanied by three models wearing just knickers, barely a shoe in sight and the slogan
“Fancy a pair”.
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Thankfully, the Advertising Standards Authority has banned the ad, saying it objectified women.
But the real question is: Who on Earth thought it was a good idea in the first place?
Knot a lot for couple to enjoy
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BRITAIN’S most notorious jailbird, Charles Bronson married his “soap actress” partner Paula Williamson this week.
After tying the knot at Wakefield prison, the bride left for the reception at the town’s York House Hotel and will be heading on honeymoon soon. Just one thing missing: The groom.
Brendan the teenager
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IF reports of Brendan Cole’s behaviour behind the scenes of Strictly are true, the 41-year-old dancing pro’s response to new head judge Shirley Ballas getting the job he wanted is . . . to ignore her when they are backstage.
I was idly wondering if a woman would ever behave in the same way, at the same time as trying to work out who his sulky, adolescent behaviour reminded me of.
Then it came to me: Kevin the teenager.
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