Emergency workers sprayed in face with 'corrosive substance' after stopping to help car crash

Off-duty police officer and paramedic described as ‘good Samaritans’

Minutes after getaway, stolen car collided with lorry and crashed into metal barrier on M11 (Google Maps)

Two off-duty emergency workers were splashed in the face with an unknown corrosive substance after they spotted a car on fire and stopped to help.

The police officer and paramedic approached the stolen car, which was in flames at the side of the road after it had crashed into a lorry in Essex.

Police had been notified that the VW Golf had been stolen from outside a shop in Buckhurst Hill, and the car owner ran from the scene after he saw that one of the alleged thieves carried a knife.

After 10 minutes on the road, the two suspects collided with the lorry and caught fire. The lorry driver was uninjured.

The suspects sprayed the substance in the emergency workers’ faces.

The two men then stole another car at the scene to make their escape. The vehicle was later recovered in Dagenham, East London.

The police officer and the paramedic were taken to hospital and received medical treatment. They will not likely suffer any long-term effects, according to a police statement.

Chief Superintendent Luke Collison of Essex Police, said: 'This was an shocking incident, and we have launched a significant investigation to track down the suspects and bring them to justice.

“On Friday night, good Samaritans who witnessed a serious collision stopped to provide urgent medical care, and were met by two dangerous offenders and seriously assaulted.

“Included in the group who stopped, were two off duty members of our emergency services.

“We are thankful that their injuries are not worse and that no other members of the public were seriously harmed.”

One of the suspects was described as a white man, between 20 and 25 years old, with short dark hair. The other suspect was described as Asian, between 25 to 30, with a dark beard and baseball cap.

The news comes after a series of acid attacks, many of which occurred in East London. Officials are considering banning the sale of certain household cleaner products to under-18s.

East London police are also carrying test kits to determine which liquids people are carrying in a stop and search pilot scheme.