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Jurors at Ipswich Crown Court have heard how a beautician has been left permanently scarred and also lost an ear after her jilted boyfriend organised two attacks on her in revenge.

The Daily Mail reports that the court heard both attacks on Adele Bellis, now aged 23, at a bus stop near her home in Lowestoft, Suffolk, were organised by her former partner, Anthony Riley, 26.

Ms Bellis was talking on her mobile phone last August when a man with his face covered walked past carrying a bottle.

“He got behind me and this bottle spilled liquid all over me – at first I thought, oh my God, he's messed up my hair. After two or three seconds, my skin just burned and I knew it was acid,” said Ms Bellis.

“I remember I was smoking – I was just crying and shouting, ‘I'm burning, I'm burning’.”

Passers-by helped her by fetching water to pour over her – but the top she was wearing “dissolved” and holes appeared in her jeans, she said.

“It's all a bit of a blur – my hair was falling out. I was just hysterical. That affected me more, seeing all my hair come out.”


At the time of the attack, Ms Bellis was recovering from a knife attack four months earlier on 29 April, 2014.

She was returning from a trip to the cinema with Riley when he led her down an alleyway and she then saw a masked man, allegedly the co-defendant Leon Thompson.

“The man jumped on Anthony and he didn't really do much,” said Ms Bellis.

“I turned around to see what was happening and this guy stabbed me.

“Anthony chased after him and kicked him to the floor. Looking at it now, he's a big man who does boxing and the way he's hit me in the past, he didn't really do an awful lot.”

The prosecution said Riley had arranged for co-defendant Leon Thompson, 39, to stab Miss Bellis in the face – as well as posting a revenge porn sex video online to humiliate her.

Miss Bellis called Riley a “jealous and controlling partner” – who would often force her to have sex in public places.

“I was scared of him,” she told the court. “He was always threatening me and forcing me to sleep with him.'

She added that Riley would “bombard” her with phone calls and messages, quiz her over her friendships with other men and – on one occasion – threatened to kill himself.

“I didn't want to be with him – but I was scared to say I didn't want to be with him,” she added.

The court also heard that Riley also offered a drug addict – John Green – the sum of £2,000 to attack Ms Bellis, but he refused when he realised what was involved, the court heard.

However, Jason Harrison – who owed Riley money – agreed to carry out the attack.

Ms Bellis has undergone extensive reconstructive surgery including skin grafts and is likely to have more in the future.

Harrison has already admitted his part in the conspiracy, jurors were told.

Riley – of Raglan Street in Lowestoft – denies false imprisonment, conspiracy to apply a corrosive liquid, and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

Thompson – of Alma Road in Lowestoft – denies wounding with intent, having a knife in public, conspiracy to apply a corrosive liquid, and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

The trial continues.

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