Plastic bottles should be redesigned in bid to stop acid attacks, research suggests

Government is urging manufacturers to change designs so bottles cannot hold corrosives without melting or changing colour

Manufacturers should redesign plastic bottles to prevent them being used in acid attacks, says a Government report, as the number of crimes involving corrosive liquids has more than doubled in five years.

Police recorded acid attacks have risen from 600 in 2016 to an estimated 1,500 in 2020 as criminals turn to the liquids as easily hidden and effective weapons, according to Freedom of Information requests to forces in England and Wales.

New laws introduced in 2019 made it an offence to have acid in a public place without a good or lawful reason and made it illegal for shops to sell a corrosive substance to anyone aged under 18.

However, the report has recommended that more needs to be done including a further offence of preparing for a corrosive attack when acid is placed into a sports drink or “squirty” bottle in preparation for a criminal act.