A man who sprayed people in the face with a noxious substance – believed to be ammonia – has been jailed for two years and four months following a series of attacks in the south London clubbing district of Vauxhall.

So So Gay reported in June that three people were sprayed with a concentrated solution after two women had yelled homophobic abuse at them. The attacker didn’t know the women, but nevertheless claimed that one of them was his ‘bird’. One of the victims replied that this didn’t matter, as he could ‘have her anyway’.

Jonathan Lynn, of Worcester Park, south London, eventually pleaded guilty to seven offences, with the judge, Recorder David Etherington QC, describing the attacks as ‘vile, violent, cowardly and disgraceful.’ However, he didn’t find that they were motivated by homophobia.

Following the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector William White said that Lynn ‘has never given an explanation as to why he did what he did that night or why he would go out armed with a corrosive liquid.’

Lynn committed the offences while out on licence after being jailed for seven years in 2009 for possession of cocaine with intent to supply. The contents of the bottle were not recovered and therefore could not be analysed.