Arthur Collins acid victim Sophie Hall breaks down in tears as she relives horror attack by Ferne McCann’s ex
A YOUNG woman broke down in tears while revealing how she felt like she was "on fire" when she was hit in the face with acid hurled across a packed nightclub by Towie star Ferne McCann's thug ex-lover.
Sophie Hall had been out celebrating a friend's birthday when Arthur Collins threw the substance across the nightclub, with more than a dozen people injured in the callous attack.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain this morning, Sophie, 21, started crying as she recounted the fateful night at the Mangle E8 club,saying: "I was sat down on my chair and it hit me in the face very strongly.
"The sting and the pain felt like my face was on fire, it actually knocked me backwards off my chair."
She added: "It's a feeling I can't actually describe. I was on fire.
"You just wanted to stop it and you couldn't. There was no stopping it."
Sophie said she was rushed into the bathrooms, dunking her face into a sink full of water to alleviate the burning sensation.
But the young woman, who said she lost the sight in one of her eyes in the weeks after the attack, was left fearing for her future when her friend told her she couldn't even look at her face.
Sophie still has facial scars from the attack, as well as a purple risen scar on her shoulder.
Struggling with the physical injuries, Sophie, of Bournemouth, said she also suffered from panic attacks, particularly when she smelt petrol.
Arthur Collins was yesterday convicted at Wood Green Crown Court in North London on five counts of grievous bodily harm and nine counts of actual bodily harm.
The Sun revealed how the 25-year-old sprayed the noxious substance across a crowded dance floor as a fight broke out at Mangle, in Dalston, East London, in the early hours of Easter Monday.
A month earlier, he had been out in nearby Hoxton when one of his friends is understood to have tried to steal a expensive watch belonging to an associate of the notorious Adams clan.
Collins was then said to have been summoned to a meeting and ordered to pay £30,000 as a fine for “taking a liberty”.
But a source told The Sun: “Collins refused to pay. He even pulled a knife on this person and threatened them.
“After that he began carrying the acid around because he was worried someone would try and iron him out.”
Drug dealer Collins carried out his attack just hours after Ferne, 27, had told their families she was expecting a child.
Struggling for words when asked to describe her thoughts on Collins, she said: "I'm pleased he's going to be off the streets and he's going to do down for a very long time."
But she said she was determined not to let the physical and emotional scars caused by the April attack to stop her.
Host Piers Morgan praised the young woman for her bravery on speaking out on the attack, with her story also hitting home with viewers.
One viewer took to social media to support Sophie, saying: "How brave of Sophie hall on @GMB. In tears watching her interview. Brave girl x".
Another added: "Sophie is courageous and inspirational being a survivor of an acid attack, I hope she speaks to Katie Piper about what she went through."
A third said: "People that commit these acid attacks should get life! Cowardly disgusting behaviour from a human being. Sophie stay strong , you look beautiful . Don't let that scumbag break your spirit x"
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