Robbers jailed after attacking women with corrosive cleaning fluid

Both women suffered facial burns, but were not permanently disfigured, in the attacks which happened within minutes.

The defendants were sentenced at the Old Bailey for robbery, attempted robbery and "applying a corrosive fluid with intent to burn, maim, disfigure or disable or to do some grievous bodily harm".

Judge John Dodd QC jailed the pair for 10 years with four years on extended licence for the "horrifying, cruel and barbaric" crimes, which he said were "entirely gratuitous".

He told the men: "These are dreadful and shocking offences. You chose to rob women who would have stood no chance against you, a gang of five men.

"Even if you were unarmed, you still chose to take ammonia with you and use it against two slight women."

He commended one of the women who "fought like a lioness defending her cubs", when the robbers attacked her family-run shop.

Prosecutor Benn Maguire told how the defendants were among a gang of five who set out to deliberately target "petite women" to rob on March 10.

He said: "During the robbery and undoubtedly to instil fear in the minds of their victims, the attackers sprayed ammonia into the faces of their victims.

"Any attempt to shout for help has resulted in ammonia being sprayed into the open mouths of the female victims - cowardly in the extreme."

Lone Hackney shopkeeper Quyen Bei, 51, bravely fought off the raiders.

Four men with faces covered were captured on CCTV as they entered the store wearing hoods and gloves.

During the attempted robbery, Kamara squirted ammonia at least three times in Mrs Bui's face.

The other robbers, including Jordan, struggled with Mrs Bui who was punched to the ground and kicked.

She managed to press the panic alarm despite suffering burns to her face. The gang fled empty handed.

About 10 minutes later, the defendants attacked a random woman in the street, the Old Bailey heard.

They forced Vietnamese Thi Le Nguyen, 49, to the ground and one pinned her face to the pavement while the other repeatedly sprayed her face with the acid.

They snatched her handbag and ran back to their getaway car laughing together.

Bottles of Kleen Off multi purpose cleaner containing high strength ammonia were found nearby, clearly marked with warnings it can cause "severe skin burns and blindness".

Both victims were rushed to hospital with facial burns, but neither had permanent injuries.

Mrs Bui said in a statement: "After the incident I was so terrified that I could not go to work.

"I am still in a state of fear and so have decided to give up the job."

Mrs Nguyen said: "After the chemical was sprayed into my face, my eyes became blurred and the snatch of my bag made me feel really scared. Thereafter I kept feeling unsafe, worried and scared."

During the attacks, Kamara also got ammonia in his eyes and complained to medics it was painful and he could not see.

At the time of the robberies, he was serving a six-month suspended prison sentence for having a knife and assaulting a police officer.

Jordan also had previous convictions including attempted robbery and using insulting words and behaviour.

Detective Constable Ben Kahane, from Hackney CID, said: "The two victims in the case are hard-working, law-abiding members of the community who have endured a dreadful ordeal.

"The level of violence used was completely disproportionate. The witness testimony describing how two of the suspects ran off laughing I think sums up the callous enjoyment the gang felt in targeting their victims.

"It was due to a combination of luck and rapid treatment of the chemical burns with water that the victims escaped life-changing injuries."

Police are still working to track down the other robbers.