'He pointed to his heart and said I'm sorry' Acid attack victim on moment thug apologised
A BRAVE acid attack victim has spoken of his difficult road to recovery on live TV - including the moment his attacker tried to apologise for severely disfiguring his face.
Andreas Christopheros, 29, was the tragic victim of mistaken identity when he was viciously attacked on his own doorstep by David Phillips, who was looking for a different man.
The father-of-one and former property developer lost his sight in one eye and suffered horrific burns after having the acid thrown on his face.
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Phillips, 48, travelled more than 300 miles from his home in Hastings, East Sussex, to Mr Christopheros' house in Truro, Cornwall, where he carried out the assault.
He was last year handed a life sentence after he pleaded guilty to the attack.
Speaking on This Morning, Mr Christopheros told of the moment he came face-to-face with his attacker moments before he was due to give evidence in court.
He said: "He was very uncooperative with the police and only pleaded guilty at the eleventh hour when I was in the witness room to give evidence.
"We walked past and he gestured to his heart and said 'I’m sorry'. To be honest it fell on deaf ears, we just walked straight past. It didn't make any difference."
It fell on deaf ears, we just walked straight past
The devastating attack was a blow for his whole family, as he recalled the moment he feared seeing his son for the first time.
Speaking about how his son reacted, he said: “It was what it was. From the time I could speak the decision to have my son not at the hospital…
"[I had] two months of thinking ‘will he even recognise me?’ and if he does, will he be scared?
"But luckily he’s amazing, he looked at me and two seconds later stuck his arms out and clung on to me and wouldn’t let go. It was the best feeling in the world.”
But for now Mr Christopheros, who wears a silicone mask to protect his skin, is now focused on rebuilding his life and said he is not concerned with the way he looks.
He will next have an operation to have his eyelids repair to improve his vision.
He said: “Aesthetically I'm not too bothered but functionality I need things to work. At the moment I've got issues with my eyelids and my nose and my mouth.
"I'm back in very shortly for my face and my eyelids. I suffer from a huge amount of contraction from scarring and my eyelids have already pulled down to my cheekbones.
"It's a case of getting them working, and from there on see where we go."
His brave interview follows a campaign by Express.co.uk for the Government to properly licence any strong acid which could be used as a weapon.
Already we have revealed that 96 per cent concentrated sulphuric acid can be easily bought on the internet for as little as £5 and with no basic checks.
To support our crusade sign our petition below to help pressure the Government to change the law.