A woman living on the road where a mother and her two children were doused in a corrosive substance told how anxious friends had contacted her, fearing she and her family were the victims.

The mother, who lives on Lessar Avenue in Clapham, south London, but asked not to be named, said: "I’ve had lots of sweet messages from concerned friends as it says on the news it was a mother and two daughters, and I have two girls." "

She continued: "The thing is, it could have been us. We could have been walking down the road. "

"It’s very unsettling when it happens so close to home. "

"But I guess these freak things can happen anywhere."

The woman, who has lived in Clapham for two years, said she was home at the time of the incident but did not see it unfold.

"We saw police cars whizzing by, and we were obviously concerned about what was happening," she said. "

"I know some of my neighbours couldn’t get home because of things being cordoned off."

She added: "I just hope the mother and her children, and the neighbours brave enough to come out and help, are all okay."