3 men arrested over acid attack on 3-year-old British boy

Three more men were today arrested by British police after a three-year-old boy suffered serious burns in an appaling acid attack in central England.

The boy was treated in hospital for serious burns to his arm and face after an "acid or a corrosive substance" was either "thrown at or sprayed towards him" at a discount store in the city of Worcester, according to police.

The boy was in a pushchair when he was "deliberately attacked" at Home Bargains in Worcester on Saturday afternoon.

The men, aged 22, 25 and 26, were arrested in London on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm. Earlier, a 39-year-old man was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm remains in police custody, the BBC reported.

Doctors discharged the boy from hospital yesterday, it said.

He was treated for serious burns to his arm and face and the "long-term implications" of the his injuries are unknown, police said.

Chief Superintendent Mark Travis said the motive for the attack is so far "unclear".

He said the family is receiving specialist medical and police support.

"We are hoping the injuries won't be life changing. They are serious and at the moment it's just that little bit too soon to say, but things look positive.

"Everything that can be done to provide support is being done, support for the family has been great.

"I absolutely understand the community will be concerned, these are life changing incidents, this is something that lasts forever and we need to send a message that this is unacceptable," Travis said.

"We'd like to thank everyone who shared our appeal over the weekend and contacted us with information; all of this is helping us to build up a better picture of this incident, detective inspector Tony Garner said.

"The shock will be universal. Anyone conducting such an attack on a small child is just appalling", Robin Walker, member of parliament for Worcester added.

Britain has seen a spike in the number of acid attacks in recent years, with hundreds of incidents in London alone every year.

The trend has prompted government intervention initiatives while police have asked the public for help to try to tackle the problem.