Bloxwich 'acid' attack victim 'feels lucky' to escape more serious injury after ordeal

Father-of-two Mike Glover-Johnson was sitting in his car on Bloxwich High Street on Sunday evening while his husband, Lee, went into takeaway Chunky Grill to grab them both some food.

But in a sudden and horrifying assault, an unknown attacker opened Mike's car door and threw a burning liquid into his face.

The 46-year-old, who used to run The Crown pub in Aldridge, said: "I was just sitting in the car when the door opened.

"Whoever it was said 'don't move, don't move'. I thought it was someone who knew me, just playing a joke. Then all of a sudden I felt something on my face burning. They said 'don't move' again and I was trying to find my seat belt. I told them to take the car.

"It all happened so quickly. Then they drove off, in their own car."

Mike ran inside the takeaway to get help, his face burning, and said it was thanks to quick-thinking of members of the public throwing water on his face that meant his injuries were not as severe as they could have been.

He added: "It could have been a lot worse than this. I was so lucky people reacted quickly."

He posted a picture of himself wrapped in a facial bandage following the attack.

The victim was said to have been in his car at the time when he was approached and had a substance thrown in his face.

In his online post, he wrote: “Any witnesses to me being randomly attacked with acid on Bloxwich high street thus (sic) evening please contact police on 101."

But he said he and husband Lee were stunned when Chunky Grill staff told them to 'get out' of the shop and tried to make them pay for the water they had taken to soothe Mike's burns.

Lee Glover-Johnson, 41, said: "They told us to get out and that we were making a mess.

They tried to make us pay for the bottles of water we were using as well to throw on Mike."

The couple, who live in Bloxwich, and both work at Sheldon Hall pub in Birmingham, have since received an apology from the Chunky Grill owner.

But later in another Facebook post, the takeaway shop owner Mushi Khan said: “I was not at the shop on this occasion but now have checked CCTV footages and provided a copy of it to the police.

“I need to clarify the confusion that (sic) Mr Mike was not charged for water but instead provided with a couple of buckets of water as well.

“In the footage seen in the presence of police shows that (sic) Mr Mike has been helped and assisted.

"Deeply feel sorry for misunderstanding created that Mike has been charged for a bottle of water.”

Mr Glover-Johnson used to be the general manager at The Crown pub, in Anchor Road, Aldridge, and was recipient of the Express & Star's Walsall pub of the year award in 2017.

Staff at the pub had helped raise more than £2,500 for charitable causes in the area.

West Midlands Police Sergeant Matt Slattery said tests were ongoing but confirmed "it was non-corrosive".

"Detectives have now reviewed CCTV footage and suspect the liquid was thrown as a tactic designed to distract the man while his laptop was swiped from the passenger seat," his force added in a statement.

Mr Glover-Johnson was taken to hospital but has since been released without long-standing injuries, officers said.

Detectives are continuing to appeal for information to identify the suspect who escaped in a blue car after the attack at about 6.50pm.