Miss England finalist, 23, left scarred by Ferne McCann's acid thug ex finds love on Channel 4 show First Dates

• Sophie Hall, 23, was left scarred after Arthur Collins threw acid on her in 2017
• Miss Hall has now found love on First Dates with a new man called Bailey
• She left viewers feeling emotional after recalling the moment of her attack 

A Miss England finalist left scarred by Ferne McCann's acid thug former boyfriend has found love on Channel 4 show First Dates.

Sophie Hall burst into tears as she recounted the horrific Easter Weekend mass acid attack at a London nightclub that left her and 15 others burned. 

The 23-year-old model suffered damage to her shoulders, arms, and face in the April 2017 attack, and believed that she would be 'scarred for life'.

She told how she had been out celebrating her friend Lauren Trent's birthday at Mangle E8 when Arthur Collins, then 25, threw strong acid over her. 

Viewers were left feeling emotional after Ms Hall, who sobbed as she gave her heartfelt account, found love on First Dates with Bailey. 

Ms Hall revealed: 'I knew my face was a mess. I could feel it in my hands.

'It was all blistered... I knew I would be scarred for life. 

'It's not something I'll be ever able to forget about and it obviously still haunts me but it's something that I've had to adapt to. I should never have had to get used to but it's something now that will be with me forever.' 

She told of how she smelled burning as people stared at her, while her self-confidence plummeted as she looked in the mirror after the attack. 

'All I could hear was people going, "Oh my God what's on her face?" And I couldn't see it, I hadn't seen it myself,' Ms Hall revealed. 'And I could tell that they were talking about me. As much as I hoped that it wasn't, I so knew that it was about me.

'For more girls, your worst fear would be having acid thrown in your face. Seeing that in the mirror for the first time was the hardest thing I've had to go through for sure.'

'Beauty can come from the inside even if you've got scars or have been through something traumatic, you are still beautiful,' she added. 

Emotional viewers flocked to Twitter to heap praise on the 'pretty' and 'stunning' Ms Hall of Poole, Dorset, who is a former Miss Bournemouth winner. 

One person posted: 'This show, Really hope things go well for Bailey and Sophie.'

Another user slammed Ms Hall's attacker, thundering: 'Poor Sophie. That acid attack was horrific. She is doing well and the hospital did a great job on her.

'Anyone who uses acid to attack other deserves never to breathe free air again.' 

And another was so wowed by Ms Hall that they commented: 'Sophie is stunning both inside and out after what she went through.'

Ms Hall suffered chemical burns caused by Collins' unprovoked acid attack upon clubgoers at Mangle E8 in Hackney in April 2017.

Wearing a shirt with the words Candy Killer printed on the front, the drug-dealing scaffolder fled the scene and hid out in an empty house in Northampton. 

He was arrested and convicted of five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent and nine counts of actual bodily harm that November. 

Collins, of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, had already been serving a six-month sentence suspended for one year after punching a man in Greenwich. 

The court heard how Collins had five prior convictions going back to 2008 for the possession of cocaine, public order offences, and criminal damage. 

In 2013, Collins had even received a warning after his ex-girlfriend's mother told police he'd called to say she was a 'c**t' and had threatened an acid attack.  

But the judge branded Collins 'an accomplished and calculating liar' who had shown 'not the slightest remorse' for his acid attack. 

The thug had even deliberately taken strong acid with him on the night 'to use when the need arised', the court also heard. 

Sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court one month later, the thug was handed a 20-year jail term with an extra five on licence.    

Collins has a young daughter, Sunday, with reality TV celebrity Ms McCann. The pair met after the TOWIE star shot to fame on the ITV series in 2013. 

Ms McCann was in a six-year relationship with fellow TOWIE talent Charlie Sims before meeting and falling in love with scaffolder Collins. 

She announced her pregnancy with Collins' child just two days after reports of his arrest as a suspect in the Mangle E8 nightclub acid attack. Ms McCann gave birth to daughter Sunday the same week that Collins was convicted.

Social media users were left feeling emotional while watching the programme.