Man, 22, injured in ‘chemical attack’ at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland

A man has been injured in a “chemical attack” at a Christmas attraction in central London, police have said.

The man, 22, was hospitalised after being doused with what’s thought to be an “alkaline liquid” at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park at around 8pm on Sunday.

The Metropolitan Police said a 16-year-old boy and two men, aged 18 and 21, were arrested after the incident.

A spokesman for the force said: “Police responded to a report of an altercation involving two groups at Winter Wonderland at approximately 8pm on Sunday, December 15.

“It was alleged that a bottle containing an alkaline liquid was thrown.

“A 22-year-old man who was splashed by the liquid was taken to hospital where his injuries were assessed as non-life changing. No other injuries were reported.

“An investigation was launched and three people – two men, aged 21 and 18, and a 16-year-old boy, were arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.

“The 16-year-old has been bailed to return to a police station on a date in February. The two men remain in custody.”

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Police have urged any members of the public with information about the “attack” to call the force on 101, quoting reference number 5850 of December 15.

The force also directed people to call independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The alleged attack follows a spate of chemical incidents in the capital – just days ago, seven police officers needed checking over by paramedics after coming into contact with a suspected alkaline substance.

As a result, two boys, aged 14 and 16, were detained on suspicion of possession of a corrosive substance in a public space and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

In October, a girl was left with serious injuries after an attack – this time with an acidic substance – outside a school in west London, prompting fears that the capital’s children are “more at risk than they have ever been”.

And at the start of this year, police embarked on a nationwide manhunt after Abdul Ezedi attacked a 31-year-old woman and her two children in southwest London.

Ezedi later was found dead in the River Thames in the capital’s east.

London’s corrosive fluid attacks surged to a peak of 472 in 2017 – and back in 2022, Dr Simon Harding, associate professor in Criminology at the University of West London, told The Standard that the city had “sadly become the acid attack hotspot in the western world.”