Brothers to be sentenced for acid attack on mother of six that left her permanently blind in one eye

Court hears how Billy and Geoffrey Midmore visited several DIY stores to buy a particular brand of drain cleaner which had the highest concentration of sulphuric acid

Carla Whitlock, 37, who was the victim of an acid attack outside the Turtle Bay Caribbean bar and restaurant in Guildhall Square, Southampton (TIM STEWART NEWS LIMITED)

Two brothers are to be sentenced for a “horrific” acid attack which left a mother-of-six permanently blind in one eye.

Billy and Geoffrey Midmore were convicted at Southampton Crown Court of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to 37-year-old Carla Whitlock.

Older brother, Geoffrey, 27, pleaded guilty to spraying drain cleaner in her face outside the Turtle Bay restaurant in Southampton, Hampshire, on 18 September last year.

Billy, 22, was found guilty at trial of being part of the attack which caused severe burns to Ms Whitlock's face and eye lids.

The trial was told that the brothers had visited several DIY stores to buy a particular brand of drain cleaner called One Shot which had the highest concentration of sulphuric acid.

Kerry Maylin, prosecuting, told the court that Geoffrey had sent a photograph of the bottle on WhatsApp to an acquaintance with the words: “This is one face melter”.

Ms Maylin said: “One Shot is all it takes to clear your drain and One Shot is all it takes to cause a serious injury to Carla Whitlock.”

She said: “They were brothers in name and they were brothers in actions as well in the days before and the days after.”

Carla Whitlock has been left permanently blinded in one eye (TIM STEWART NEWS LIMITED)

Ms Maylin said the attack had been out of revenge after Ms Whitlock had introduced a man called Levi to the Midmore brothers and a deal with him worth £2,000 had gone wrong.

She explained that Ms Whitlock and her partner were drug users and had recently purchased drugs from the Midmore brothers, who are of no fixed address but originally from London with connections to Kent.

Billy and Geoffrey Midmore

Ms Maylin said: “Because that drug deal went wrong, these two brothers decided to enact their revenge by permanently scarring Ms Whitlock.”

Ms Maylin said that the brothers were seen on CCTV later that evening as they took a train to stay at a friend's house in Basingstoke.

She said: “They weren't sorry, they were jubilant, they were high five-ing, they were fist-bumping, they were laughing.”

Describing the attack carried out by Geoffrey, Ms Whitlock told the trial: “He just kind of smiled at me, pulled a bottle out, I thought he was going to throw a drink at me but it wasn't a joke. I felt my face was on fire.”

PA