A THREE-YEAR-OLD boy screamed ‘I hurt, I hurt, I hurt!’ after he was squirted with sulphuric acid in a Worcester shop as CCTV footage of the alleged attack was played to a jury.

The footage shows Adam Cech holding what appears to be a container and extending his left hand towards the boy in Home Bargains in Worcester. The boy's 40-year-old father, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, and six co-defendants all deny conspiracy to apply a corrosive fluid at their trial at Worcester Crown Court.

The other defendants are Adam Cech, aged 27, of Farnham Road, Birmingham; Jan Dudi, 25, of Cranbrook Road, Birmingham; Jabar Paktia, 42, of New Hampton Road, Wolverhampton; Norbert Pulko, aged 22, of Sutherland Road, London; Saied Hussini, 42, of Wrottesley Road, London; and Martina Badiova, 22, of Newcombe Road, Birmingham.

Jonathan Rees QC, prosecuting, said that the boy’s mother heard him scream out ‘I hurt, I hurt, I hurt!’ seconds after the attack on Saturday, July 21 last year.

He added: “He was shouting and crying and ran towards his mother holding his left arm.”

Within a couple of minutes a rash had developed on his arm and a drop on his elbow appeared to dissolve into his skin. As the family approached the till a further rash developed on the boy’s forehead. The mark on his arm continued to worsen. His mother called 999 but was 'in such a state' that she required the help of a member of staff to pass on the information to the operator.

Cech, Pulko and Dudi all left the shop within seconds of each other at 2.17pm, returning to Birmingham in a Vauxhall Vectra.

Before the attack Pulko had purchased a packet of balsam tissues and a My Little Play Pony Play-Doh fashion fun set from the shop. The case is that the mother of the boy was ‘tailed’ as she drove to the retail park before the attack and that there had been a previous, failed mission to attack the child outside a Worcester school eight days before.

Pulko called Paktia at 2.23pm who in turn called the father of the boy, the man they allege is ultimately behind the attack after the breakdown of his arranged marriage. Pulko then made calls to Saied Hussini at 2.29pm. Mr Rees said this call pattern revealed that the absent male conspirators were being given a report of what had occurred.

The boy was assessed by paramedics and taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester where his burns were irrigated with water for 30 minutes. The burn to his arm measured 10cm by 3cm and the burn to his forehead measured 3cm by 4cm. Further care was provided by the plastic team at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Analysis of the liquid showed it contained sulphuric acid at a likely concentration of 30 per cent and a pH of 1.

The father was the first to be arrested the day after the attack. The arrests of Pulko, Cech and Dudi, Paktia and Hussini followed on Monday, July 23 last year. Badiova was arrested on August 23. In interview the father claimed he knew nothing of the incident until a police officer old him about it at the time of his arrest. The Afghan denied any involvement and said ‘he would not do such a thing to his child’. He was shown an image of Pulko, Cech and Dudi inside Home Bargains but claimed he did not know them and had not had contact with them. The dad was found with a mobile phone which contained only three telephone numbers - that of his co-defendants Paktia, Pulko and Hussini.

The mother of the child began giving evidence via videolink, describing how she had left her husband before the attack and he had talked to an Imam about killing her and the children, claiming she had 'humiliated' him.

The trial continues.