Man, 28, appears in court charged with attempted murder after two set alight in attacks in Birmingham and London

A MAN has appeared in court charged with attempted murder after two men were set alight while leaving mosques in separate attacks

On Monday one victim allegedly had his jacket "sprayed with an unknown substance" before he was set alight on a residential street in Birmingham.

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And police had been investigating links to an identical attack outside a mosque in Ealing three weeks ago on an 82-year-old man.

Today Mohammed Abbkr, 28, was charged with two counts of attempted murder, West Midlands Police said.

He has now been remanded in custody at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court.

The victim of the Birmingham attack, Mohammed Rayaz, 70, was strolling along Shenstone Road, in Edgbaston, Birmingham, when he was confronted by a man on Monday night.

Moments later, shocking CCTV showed Mr Rayaz engulfed in fire and screaming in agony for help just yards from his home.

He was rushed to hospital as his son is alleged to have screamed "my dad is on fire".

The father-of-two is stable but suffered severe burns, his family revealed yesterday.

Speaking on behalf of the family, lawyer and friend Shabron Hussain said he rushed to the scene after Mr Rayaz's horrified son called him.

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He revealed: "I had a call from his son to say, ‘My dad is on fire’, so I was one of the first ones to attend."

Meanwhile, in a separate case on February 27, another victim spoke to his attacker for about five minutes as they both left an Islamic Centre in Ealing.

He was doused in a liquid, believed to be petrol, and set alight.

A police spokesperson said: "We continue to ask anyone with CCTV, ring doorbell footage or video footage that could help our investigation to send this to us directly.

"This was a joint investigation between West Midlands Police, Counter Terrorism Policing and the Metropolitan Police.

"Anyone with information has been asked to get in touch on 101 or alternatively, get in touch via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."