Ellie Chessell was left with second and third degree burns on more than half of her body after the attack. She has told police that a man uttered the word ‘sorry’ in Portuguese before throwing a corrosive liquid at her.

Detectives are working on the theory that Chessell’s former boyfriend, a Portuguese national, may have hired a hit man. The ex-boyfriend is alleged to have stalked her after meeting her at a former posting in Madeira and followed her to the mainland.

The attack involved so much corrosive liquid that three police officers needed hospital treatment for breathing difficulties, The Telegraph reports.

Chessell is under police guard in hospital. A Tui spokesperson told TTG: “Our resort team are fully supporting our colleague and are co-operating with the investigation currently taking place by the local police.

“We would like to reassure our customers that this is an isolated incident and situations like this are extremely rare.”