News

Teen remains in hospital after acid attack

By Laura Nightingale
January 25, 2013

A TEENAGE boy remains in hospital after acid was thrown at him near a wooded area in Yateley.

The 16-year-old was walking near Manor Park Drive at around 9pm on January 9 when a man appeared and threw the substance.

The teenager was taken to a specialist hospital in London for injuries to his face and upper body but it is not known how long he will remain there.

Police are repeating their appeal for witnesses to the attack.

Hampshire Constabulary described it as a ‘terrifying attack,’ and said the boy’s family remain at his bedside.

Chief inspector Sarah Jackson said: “This is the first time there has been something like this.

“It happened in a residential area and with any luck someone would have seen something. This is not a random attack. We have a whole team of detectives working on these enquiries and we have provided additional patrols.”

She said people were increasingly using social networking sites to talk about issues in the area and that each of her safer neighbourhood teams had Twitter accounts.

“The tweets offer crime prevention and if something has happened then information on how people can get in touch to help with ongoing investigations,” she added. Acting detective chief inspector Darren Barrett said the attack had left the victim with ‘horrendous injuries’.

He added: “I would appeal to the local community to think hard about anything they might know or have heard about this incident and to contact my team with any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem.

“I am aware that there has been lots of information being exchanged over social media sites and would be keen to hear from anyone who has seen or received such information.”

A 46-year-old man from Yateley and a 33-year-old man from Farnborough were arrested in connection with the incident. Pending further enquiries, the older man has been bailed until March 5 and the 33-year-old man has been bailed until March 18.

Anyone with information is asked to call Aldershot CID on 101, or contact Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.