Heroic staff at a Caribbean restaurant may have saved a teenager from going blind after an apparent bleach attack in Chessington, southwest London.
The incident took place on Saturday December 6 at around 9:30pm on the Ace of Spades Roundabout in Chessington.
The victims, a group of three teenage boys aged and two men aged 18 and 19, had been eating at the Caribbean Classic restaurant just before the attack.
One staff member recalled how it had been “just a normal day” before the incident occurred.
After leaving the restaurant, a man on a motorbike reportedly threw an unidentified liquid at the group, causing them to run in fear back towards the restaurant.
It is understood the liquid is thought to have been bleach.
Crying for help, the boys ran back into the shop and reported the incident to staff.
One of the waitresses on duty that night recalled the shocking event: “One of them was crying and saying it had gone in their eyes.”
She said one of the other boys had the fluid in his hair and the other in his mouth.
The quick-thinking restaurant staff rushed the boys into the kitchen, where they filled jugs with water to try and flush away the liquid whilst the other called police and paramedics.
“What else can you do in that situation? Other than flush out his eyes?” The waitress said.
She said none of the staff knew what the liquid was, and their priority was to clean it off the boys as soon as possible.
“We knew we had to act fast, because he might have gone blind.” she said.
She described how they had to rinse one of the boys “whole head” under the tap, in a desperate attempt at trying to prevent the corrosive substance from causing further damage.
Paramedics arrived soon after and treated the victims at the scene, where their injuries were deemed not life-changing or life-threatening.
The restaurant reported that CCTV footage showed that a man on a motorbike threw liquid at the boys.
Thanks to the fast reflexes of the restaurant staff, the boy who had liquid thrown in his eye has had his eyesight saved.
“He came back yesterday and told us that if it wasn’t for me and my colleague washing out his eyes, he would have gone blind.” She said.
However, the young man will still require treatment.
The waitress added: “One of his eyes is temporarily blind and he has to have 15 eye drops a day”
There is no indication of who the offender is, as the waitress explained: “They have no idea who did it, they don’t know who he is. They’re not in that type of lifestyle. They’re good kids.”
A spokesperson for The London Ambulance said: “We were called at 9.44pm on Saturday 6 December to reports of an assault on Ace Parade, Chessington.
“We sent an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and a clinical team manager to the scene.
“We treated three people for minor injuries. We took one patient to hospital and discharged the other two patients at the scene.”
The Metropolitan Police has said that no arrests have been made and enquiries continue.
A spokesperson for the Met said: “Police were called at 21:42hrs on Saturday, 6 December following reports a group had been sprayed with a substance on Ace Parade, Chessington.
“Two boys, aged 16, 17 and two men aged 18 and 19 were treated by paramedics at the scene where their injuries were deemed not life-changing or life-threatening. Our enquiries indicate the substance was non-corrosive.”
The London Fire Brigade were also called to attend.
They have asked for anyone with information about the incident that could help police to call 101 quoting CAD 7012/6Dec.
