Update: 7:25 am – A brave acid attack victim today said she was ‘patiently waiting for the return of my face’ in a harrowing open letter telling of her ‘unbearable pain’.
Aspiring model Resham Khan, 21, and her cousin Jameel Muhktar, 37, both suffered ‘life-changing’ burns in the attack in Beckton, East London.
Now Miss Khan has said she wants to ensure ‘no one ever goes through the living nightmare I have endured’ after being left with horrific face and neck injuries after the incident on June 21.
It comes as a campaign to change the law to make corrosive substances much harder to buy gained momentum as it hit more than 360,000 signatures online.
In her letter, Miss Khan wrote: ‘I invite you all in once again to reflect upon my 21st birthday. A milestone age for many reasons, we must remember that any opportunity to mark or celebrate the occasion was stolen from me.
Miss Khan has said she wants to ensure ‘no one ever goes through the living nightmare I have endured’ after being left with horrific face and neck injuries after the incident
‘Stolen in one of the most painfully scarring ways I could ever imagine. My plans are in pieces; my pain is unbearable, and I write this letter in hospital whilst I patiently wait for the return of my face.
‘Currently, I have two main priorities: to make a full recovery and to make sure no one ever goes through the living nightmare I have endured.
‘Since the attack and the vast media coverage, the disturbing rise of attacks using corrosive substances as a weapon has been brought to the public’s attention.’
She said that the number of incidents involving corrosive substances in London has risen from 186 in 2014/2015 to 397 in 2016/2017.