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Acid attacker drove 300 miles for revenge but got the wrong man

The acid attack has left the property developer educated at Kings College blinded and severely disfigured.

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As Christopheros opened the door, Phillips threw the acid into his face.

Superintendent Thorne said police believed that Phillips had driven from his home in east Sussex to Cornwall before attacking Mr Christopheros.

Exeter crown court heard that Phillips, a 49-year-old painter and decorator, travelled more than 300 miles to get to Christopheros’s home in Truro, Cornwall, falsely believing him to be a man who had wronged a member of his family.

Mr Christopheros was attacked on the doorstep of his house at Carrine Road at about 16:00 GMT on 9 December 2014.

For the court appearance, Christopheros wore sunglasses and a face shield, with extensive burns across his face still clearly visible.

Phillips’ wife Nicole, 45, was charged with perverting the course of justice but these were later dropped.

Phillips plead guilty to unlawfully and maliciously causing GBH with intent to cause harm.

Phillips threw the acid in the businessman’s face at his Truro home, causing life-changing injuries.

An acid attack on a former Taunton schoolboy was a revenge attack gone wrong, a court has heard.

“He felt a member of his family had been seriously hurt”.

Before the assault: Phillips planned the revenge attack for “a personal reason to do with his family” – but got the wrong target.

“He thought he had the right address – but as it turns out he was in completely the wrong area”.

‘The end result is an innocent victim who has been left with serious life-changing injuries’.

Defence lawyer Mohammed Bashir said it was a “very serious offence” and asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Mr Christopheros, meanwhile, appeared in public today for the first time since the incident last December as Phillips admitted his guilt.

Mr Christopheros, who organised the Run to the Sun in Newquay and was director of nine companies, has lost the sight in one eye and is partially blind in the other.

The judge said Phillips, of Barley Lane, Hastings, will be facing jail when he returns to court on October 9.

“Of course that is a big thing to live with when you know you have not, when you know you are innocent”.

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Man scarred for life after he was covered in acid in case of mistaken identity