Dad issues acid attack warning after being blinded by biker through car window

02 February 2024 , 10:35

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Spencer Gymer was attacked by a motorcyclist during the school run (Image: Molly Gymer/Facebook)

A dad has issued a warning to drivers after a motorcyclist sprayed acid on his face through a gap in his car window in a suspected gang initiation.

Spencer Gymer was left blinded after the random attack as he was travelling in Surbiton, South West London, on the school run. The dad said the biker started shouting at him whilst he was stopped at a set of traffic lights last month. Mr Gymer said he opened his window around an "inch" to ask the man, who was wearing a balaclava, what the problem was before the man got out a water bottle with a sports lid. The man then squeezed the liquid onto his face and upper body, which instantly left the dad "paralysed and blinded" on January 19.

Speaking about the ordeal, Spencer said: "He told me to open the rest of my window, and he instantly produced a water bottle with a sports lid – like a nozzle. He then proceeded to squeeze the whole bottle directly into my face and my upper body. I was instantly paralyzed and blinded. I inhaled and ingested the solution. All the insides of my mouth blistered."

The dad said he thought he was "going to die" and struggled to breathe as he was left covered in the substance. He was rushed to hospital and endured ten hours of treatment, which saw his eye repeatedly washed out. Spencer explained that the liquid was neat ammonia and believed he may have been picked out for a gang initiation. He said there were parents with kids at the time of the "traffic jam" and urged drivers not to open their car windows.

Spencer underwent 10 hours of treatment (Molly Gymer/Facebook)

The dad said the man used a water bottle to carry out the attack (Molly Gymer/Facebook)

He told Your Local Guardian: "My message to you all is never open your car window if someone pulls up next to you screaming at your car. I don’t want this to ever happen to anyone else." Kingston Police have launched an appeal for witnesses in a bid to locate the motorcyclist.

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They said: "Police were called at around 4.10pm on Friday, 19 January, to reports of a man sprayed with a liquid substance at the junction of Brighton Road and Portsmouth Road in Surbiton. There has been no arrest at this stage. We are pleased that the man has been discharged from hospital following treatment and detectives from the Met’s South West CID are investigating."

Monica Charsley