By FRANCINE WOLFISZ, NEWS REPORTER Published: 10:31 BST, 3 October 2025 | Updated: 11:49 BST, 3 October 2025 5 shares
Two boys were rushed to hospital after an alleged 'acid attack' took place in broad daylight on a busy London high street.The horrifying incident is said to have occurred during a fight between two groups of boys in Walthamstow High Street, East London, on Wednesday afternoon.A liquid - which was later confirmed to be a 'corrosive substance' - was thrown during the scuffle at around 4.30pm, Metropolitan Police said. Emergency services, including the Met Police, London Ambulance Service (LAS) and London Fire Brigade (LFB), responded to the incident. Three youths, all aged 17, were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, affray and possession of an offensive weapon, and remain in custody.Two have been charged and are set to appear at Stratford Magistrates' Youth Court today. The third was bailed pending further enquiries. LAS said it had checked over three youngsters at the scene, with two taken to hospital. Their injuries were assessed as being non life-threatening.A LAS spokesperson told Daily Mail: 'We were called at 4.40pm on Wednesday 1 October to reports of an assault in Stainforth Road, Walthamstow. Two boys were rushed to hospital after an alleged 'acid attack' took place in broad daylight on Walthamstow High Street, East London, on Wednesday afternoon'We sent two ambulance crews, an incident response officer and our Hazardous Area Response Team to the scene.'We checked over three patients at the scene and took two of them to hospital.'Met Police said today in a statement: 'Two teenage boys, both aged 17-years-old, were charged on Thursday, 2 October with attempted grievous bodily harm, possession of a bladed article, possession of a corrosive substance and affray.'They are set to appear at Stratford Magistrates' Youth Court on Friday, 3 October and cannot be named for legal reasons.'At around 4.30pm on Wednesday, 1 October officers responded to reports of a fight between two groups of boys on Walthamstow High Street, Waltham Forest.'During the incident a liquid was thrown which was later confirmed to be a corrosive substance.'Police attended the scene along with the London Ambulance Service and the London Fire Brigade. 'Three boys were taken to hospital, where they were assessed to have non life-threatening nor life-changing injuries.'Three 17-year-old boys were arrested in connection with the incident. Two were charged as above and the third was bailed pending further enquiries.'Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, described the incident as 'horrific' and 'worrying' in a Facebook post.She said: 'I want to be clear I recognise [the] recent spate of incidents [as] worrying and am seeking further details of what actions are being taken to tackle serious crime in our community.'Met Police said enquiries are ongoing into the incident.Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting CAD 5267/01OCT or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
