This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/13/arthur-collins-found-guilty-of-nightclub-acid-attack-in-east-london

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Arthur Collins found guilty of nightclub acid attack in east London Arthur Collins found guilty of nightclub acid attack in east London
(about 1 hour later)
Arthur Collins has been found guilty of an acid attack in a packed London nightclub. A man has been convicted of seriously injuring more than a dozen people after spraying acid on to a packed dancefloor in a London nightclub.
Collins, 25, an ex-boyfriend of the reality TV star Ferne McCann, was on trial for hurling the substance over a crowd at Mangle E8 in Dalston, east London. He was convicted of five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent, and nine counts of actual bodily harm against 14 people. Arthur Collins, an ex-boyfriend of The Only Way is Essex cast member Ferne McCann, was found guilty of five counts of grievous bodily harm and nine of actual bodily harm at Wood Green crown court on Monday.
Earlier on Monday another man, Andre Phoenix, was cleared of helping Collins in the attack. At Wood Green crown court Phoenix had faced four counts of grievous bodily harm and two of actual bodily harm. More than 20 people were hurt in the attack at the Mangle E8 club in Dalston, east London, in April after Collins got into a fight with a group of men.
CCTV footage showed Collins, the father of McCann’s newborn daughter, throwing a liquid towards a man on the dancefloor at the club on 17 April. He admitted throwing the bottle of fluid over clubbers but said he had not known it was acid. He said he had thought the liquid was a date rape drug and he had snatched it from two men after overhearing them planning to spike a woman’s drink.
Collins admitted throwing the bottle of fluid over clubbers but said he did not know it was acid. He said he thought the liquid was a date rape drug, which he had snatched from two men after overhearing them planning to spike a girl’s drink. Collins’ friend Andre Phoenix was found not guilty of four counts of grievous bodily harm and two counts of actual bodily harm in relation to the incident.
There were tears in the public gallery, which was packed with Collins’s friends and family, as the jury’s verdicts were read out. Sixteen people suffered serious burns, and police said that in the immediate aftermath of the incident there were fears that three victims could have sustained permanent damage to their vision.
More than a dozen people were injured when acid was thrown over the packed dancefloor. “Fortunately, this proved not to be the case - although one of these victims did tell the court that he still suffers blurred vision in one of his eyes,” Scotland Yard said.
Collins said he had been out celebrating the news of McCann’s pregnancy, which they had announced to her family the previous day. DCS Simon Laurence, the Hackney borough commander, said: “Collins went to the nightclub that night with a bottle of a noxious substance with the intent to use it to inflict serious harm.
CCTV showed him and Phoenix arriving at the club at about 9pm before getting into a confrontation with a group of men around four hours later. At about 1am people were seen with hands to their faces and running off the dancefloor after Collins doused them with a liquid. “He indiscriminately and recklessly sprayed the substance in a crowded place, knowing full well the danger this would pose to a large number of people. This was a barbaric and cowardly act.”
Clubbers dropped to their knees, shielded their faces with clothing, and rubbed ice on blistered skin after the attack. The substance was later found to have a rating of pH1 – indicating a strong acid. Collins told the court he had been out celebrating the news of McCann’s pregnancy, which they had announced to her family the previous day.
Victims described a burning smell and their skin “blistering straight away” before everyone started “screaming, shouting, running”. CCTV showed him and Phoenix arriving at the club at about 9pm and getting into a confrontation about four hours later. At about 1am, people were seen holding their hands to their faces and running off the dancefloor after Collins doused them with a liquid.
Collins and Phoenix were identified from the CCTV footage, in which Collins could be seen wearing a T-shirt with the word “killer” written on it. The substance was later found to have a rating of pH1, indicating a strong acid. Victims described a burning smell and their skin “blistering straight away”.
Phoenix was arrested on 21 April but Collins was not apprehended until a few days later. Collins was Tasered as he was seized by armed police after trying to flee from an upstairs window of a house in Highham Ferrers, Northamptonshire. CCTV footage showed Collins – in a T-shirt bearing the word “killer” – stayed at the club for about another hour, appearing to laugh and joke.
The jury heard reference to a message Collins sent to his sister six days before the attack in which he warned: “Mind that little hand wash in my car ACID.” Collins claimed in court that the message referred to a shampoo containing amino acid and coconut oil that he was worried about his nieces finding and biting it.
Phoenix was arrested on 21 April and Collins a few days later. Collins was hit by a Taser weapon as he was seized by armed police after trying to flee from an upstairs window of a house in Highham Ferrers, Northamptonshire.
He has a previous conviction for actual bodily harm in December 2015 after punching a man in the face in another nightclub attack.He has a previous conviction for actual bodily harm in December 2015 after punching a man in the face in another nightclub attack.
Collins told the jury that he had been in a serious relationship with McCann for about a year at the time of the incident, and had found out she was pregnant just weeks earlier. “It was the happiest I have ever felt. We were both really happy,” he said. Collins told the jury that at the time of the Mangle E8 incident he had been in a serious relationship with McCann for about a year and he had found out she was pregnant weeks earlier. “It was the happiest I have ever felt. We were both really happy,” he said.
He said he did not hand himself in to police because he feared McCann would be targeted by gang members if he did. He said he had not handed himself in to police because he had feared McCann would be targeted by gang members if he did.
Collins was convicted on all counts on a majority verdict of 10 to two. He will be sentenced on 19 December. Collins was convicted on all counts on a majority verdict of 10 to two. He will be sentenced at the same court on 19 December.