Teenager jailed for a decade after scooter acid attacks

Seventeen-year-old Derryck John was jailed for more than ten years yesterday after admitting to acid attacks on six moped riders.

John, from Thornton Heath near Croydon, appeared at Wood Green Crown Court via video link to undergo sentencing after previously admitting 12 offences including spraying riders in the face with a corrosive substance, leaving one with life-changing injuries.

John was the passenger on a moped, driven by an unidentified person, and carried out the attacks across East London last July.

“One of the victims has lost 30 percent of his eyesight which he will never recover - others described searing pain and burning at the time and have been forced to leave their jobs as a result of their injuries,” said prosecutor Ramesh Patel.

“Had they not been wearing helmets, all of the victims’ injuries could have been much more serious,” Patel added in a statement.

Detective Sergeant James Leeks said in a police statement: “Acid attacks ruin lives and have no place in our society. It beggars belief that anyone would be prepared to scar someone for life and leave them to live with life-changing injuries for the sake of a phone or a moped.”