Ex-boyfriend sentenced for life for acid attack on woman

A beautician scarred in an acid attack orchestrated by her ex-boyfriend called for new laws to stop the rising number of attacks.

Adele Bellis, 23, lost an ear and was left partially bald when she had suphuric acid thrown over her in Lowestoft, Suffolk on August 14 last year.

Her controlling former boyfriend Anthony Riley was given a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 13 years.

ITV News' Juliet Bremner reports:

A beautician disfigured in an acid attack orchestrated by her ex-boyfriend has called for automatic life sentences to be given to all acid attackers.

"I believe that anyone who plans or uses acid to attack someone should automatically get a life sentence because for us as survivors it is something we have to live with for the rest of our lives," Adele Bellis, 23, said outside Ipswich Crown Court.

She added: "Acid seems to have become another weapon for sick, unstable individuals.

"It needs proper restrictions placed on it at the point of sale, like any other potential weapon. At the moment it's too easy for anyone to buy acid on the high street.

She also had this message to anyone trapped in a controlling relationship: "Get out now, before it is too late."

Jaf Shah, from Acid Survivors Trust International, told ITV News that acid was becoming the "weapon of choice" for many.

He said it was easily accessible and available to buy for "as little as £7 or £8".

Mr Shah told Alastair Stewart that he was "not convinced" there was a police strategy for combating the crime.

A woman has described how she felt like she was "on fire" when she had acid thrown over her on the orders of her jealous ex-boyfriend.

"I was just running; I was begging for water; I was screaming," Adele Bellis told ITV News.

"People stopped and helped me...when the water was chucked over me I just smoked and ran again because I was just on fire."

A woman who was severely injured when acid was thrown in her face in an attack arranged by her former boyfriend told court: "I'm not sure I will ever recover mentally".

Adele Bellis, a beautician from Lowestoft in Suffolk, was left with "life-changing" injuries - including the loss of her right ear - after sulphuric acid was thrown on her face as she waited for a bus in August last year.

The 23-year-old's victim impact statement was read out at Ipswich Crown Court, during the proceedings against the four men held responsible - one of whom was a "manipulative and jealous" ex-boyfriend who orchestrated a campaign of violence against her.

An ex-boyfriend jailed for arranging an acid attack on his former girlfriend had a "taste for cruelty", the judge sentencing him has said.

Anthony Riley, 26, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 13 years for ordering the attack as part of a campaign of violence.

Leon Thompson, 39, who was recruited by Riley to carry out an earlier knife attack, was also sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role.

Anthony Marshall, 38, from Haverhill received a seven-year sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply a corrosive substance.

Jason Harrison, 29, has also admitted carrying out the acid attack.

A Suffolk man who arranged for sulphuric acid to be thrown in his ex-girlfriend's face has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 13 years after a campaign of "unimaginable" violence against her.

Anthony Riley, 26, from Lowestoft was last month found guilty of conspiracy to attack Adele Bellis, along with false imprisonment.

Bellis suffered severe burns and lost her ear and hair after the attack at a Lowestoft bus stop last August.

Riley was sentenced via video link from a prison in Chelmsford.

Among three other men being sentenced is Leon Thompson, 39, who had been recruited by Riley to carry out an earlier knife attack on her and was convicted of conspiracy to attack her with acid.