Dad felt as though his ‘skin was like jelly’ after acid attack

Lee Deakin left his house in Milton Street, Sutton Manor, to get a charger from his car on April 14, 2019.

It was then that he was targeted by gangland enforcer Jonathan Gordon, 34.

Taking instructions from an unidentified boss of an organised crime group (OCG) on the encrypted comms platform EncroChat, Gordon threw a container of acid in Mr Deakin's face.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how the victim was blinded temporarily and, while some of his sight has returned, he is still receiving treatment three years on from the attack, with the prognosis still "uncertain".

During an identity parade, he picked out Gordon, who is from Kirkdale, Liverpool but of no fixed address, as his attacker.

Gangland enforcer: Jonathan Gordon (Image: Merseyside Police)

Gordon, 34, was jailed today with Judge David Aubrey telling him he must serve a minimum of 24 years and eight months.

When he is eventually released he will spend his life on parole.

Describing Gordon’s acid attack as a “truly wicked act of barbarity,” the judge told him: “You have reached the depths of inhumanity.”

Gordon charged £6,000 to commit an acid attack and £10,000 to blind someone, the court was told.

In a heart-rending victim impact statement, the victim, Mr Deakin, described the terror and agony of the attack.

He said: “My skin felt like jelly. As I washed my face it felt as if my skin was falling off my face. My eyes and skin continued to burn and I was in agony.”

Speaking of the devastation on his life, the victim said he was “left in a world of darkness, depression and dependency”.

He said: “I thought first about my family.

“They needed me, but I couldn’t support them in the state I was.

“I worried that I would forget my children’s faces. I thought about the fact they would age and their faces would change, but I would only ever know them as children.

“I accepted I would never be the father they deserved. I’d never be able to drive them anywhere. I’d never be able to see them play their football matches.

“I’d never see their school play. They would bring me painting and drawings home from school and I would pretend I could see the picture in front of me."

Gordon then planned further attacks, organised the shooting of another man’s house and was involved in two other street shootings in Liverpool – with one blasting the bedroom window of an OAP couple’s home.

Previously encrypted messages showed Gordon, who was a member of the ‘Deli Mob’ in Liverpool and convicted drug dealer, was taking instructions from an unidentified crime boss.