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This Morning viewers disgusted after acid-attack victim reveals he was mistaken for someone else

Young father has been scarred for life

This Morning viewers were left clutching their mouths in horror today as an acid-attack victim appeared on the show to talk about his ordeal.

Property developer Andreas Christopheros, 32, was left severely disfigured and blind in one eye after being assaulted in a case of mistaken identity in December 2014.

His attacker, David Phillips, 50, had travelled more than 300 miles from his home in Hastings, East Sussex, to exact revenge on a man he believed had sexually assaulted someone close to him.

Unfortunately for Andreas, Phillips knocked on the wrong door – and it was him who suffered Phillips’ wrath, with a beaker of concentrated sulphuric acid being poured over him.

Though Phillips was originally sentenced to life imprisonment, the term was changed to 16 years following an appeal.

That means, after serving eight years in jail, he could be a free man. And, speaking to This Morning presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, Andreas expressed his disappointment with the punishment.

“It’s frustrating to get around the thought process of ending up where they did,” he said. “It’s a premeditated crime. He had three hours to think about what he was going to do – obviously he got the wrong person.

“Where will I be when he’s out from jail? I’ll still be recovering for 20/30 years; I’ll have the scars and be visually impaired for life. There’s no miracle cure for me. So the fact he’ll potentially be out in five years is just completely wrong.

Read more: Is EastEnders’ Louise set to be disfigured in acid-attack horror?

On that fateful day in 2014, Andreas was at home with his wife and then-18-month-old son when Phillips arrived at the house.

“I opened my door as I would to anyone, expecting it to be a deliveryman, and instantly received a beaker of acid to the face,” he continued.

“The pain is inexplicable, I knew instantly it was acid. There’s no mistaking it. My T-shirt dissolved form top to bottom – it just disappeared.

“I screamed upstairs to my wife and ran to the kitchen to douse myself in as much water as I could.”

Viewers were left appalled by Andreas’s story, and took to Twitter to express their opinions.

One wrote: “Maybe I’m too naive but surely the sentencing should match either side – Andreas has a life sentence so why shouldn’t the attacker?!!”

Read more: Acid-attack survivor Katie Piper opens up about her “life sentence”

Another said: “Such a brave gentleman. Life sentence should mean life for this despicable crime and brought into force ASAP.”

And a third viewer added: “The victim has to suffer for life, then so should the attacker – they should be locked up for a long long time.”

According to figures issued by the Metropolitan Police, crimes involving corrosive substances in London rose from 261 in 2015 to 431 in 2016.


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

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