A young Muslim woman and her cousin suffered 'life-changing' injuries after an acid attack in east London Wednesday when she was celebrating her 21st birthday.

Resham Khan and her 37-year-old cousin Jameel Mukhtar were doused in sulphuric acid by an attacker, who was later identified as a man named John Tomlin, while they were inside a car in traffic in Beckton.

Khan suffered major damage to her left eye and was burned across her face body as her cousin lost control of the vehicle and crashed.

"He [Mukhtar] put his foot down as we were coming onto a dual carriage way but the pain took over and we crashed. We stripped off in the middle of the road, running around screaming and begging for water. We did this for 45 minutes. No ambulance came," Khan wrote on her Twitter.

Mukhtar was placed in an induced coma after suffering from severe burns across his head, face and body, it also damaged his eye as Khan underwent a skin graft.

Mukhtar told Channel4News that he and his cousin had no problems with anyone and that the attack was a hate crime that had an Islamophobic motive.

"I honestly feel if this was a white person that was attacked by an Asian person he would be caught within 24 hours. There'd be a national manhunt," he said.

Resham tweeted after the attack: "I am so grateful to everyone that has prayed for me. I feel as though I'm blessed to have my limbs and senses. But I loved my face and body.

Eight days after the attack, Met police released the photo of the suspect.

"Officers from Newham and the Met's Territorial Support Group executed a warrant at an address in E16 on the afternoon of 21 June in connection with the incident. There were no arrests; enquiries continue." it said in a statement.

The attack comes weeks after a British man killed one Muslim and injured 11 others outside a mosque in north London on one of the last days of the holy month of Ramadan. The 47-year-old attacker, Darren Osbourne, was later charged with "terrorism-related murder and attempted murder."

In a separate attack in the northern English city of Newcastle, six Muslims, including three children, were injured after a car ran into a large crowd gathered to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Police said there was no information suggesting the incident was terror-related.