DETECTIVES who brought two criminals to justice after a vicious acid attack have been commended for their work.

Wayne Ingold had acid thrown in his face by two men in August 2014 in a communal area of flats in Witham, leaving him with life-changing burns to his face and neck.

DS Becky Young and DC Alan Lewis headed up Operation Jellyfish in a bid to catch the perpetrators in what was a case of mistaken identity.

They have now been recognised at the Police Federation National Detectives’ Forum awards.

Nominating the officers, who just missed out on being shortlisted for Detective Investigation of the Year, Leighton Hammett said: “Becky and Alan were tenacious in their approach to this investigation.

“They knew that if they could identify the attackers and bring them to justice the victim would get the closure needed to move on with his life.”

Mr Ingold, 58, described the detectives as “fantastic”.

He said: “They were a big part of my life when it happened. I grew quite close to them and they helped me through it.

“It’s a real shame they didn’t get it, they worked tirelessly and went above and beyond the call of duty.

“They were always there, they bought me Christmas and birthday presents.

“On the first anniversary they took me and my kids out bowling. They are so busy working on so many cases at once with the cutbacks, it’s definitely credit where it’s due. Especially as Alan has retired now, it would’ve been nice for him to go out on.”

Aarron Isaac and Jake McCabe, who had gone on the run, were arrested three months after the incident and sentenced to a combined total of 16 years.