Reporting by Russell Findlay

Politicians have been urged to end delays to a new law banning people from carrying acid and other corrosive substances in public.

The UK government's Offensive Weapons Bill has stalled due to objections by some Tory backbenchers over a clause banning high-powered rifles.

SNP Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf plans to extend the new law to Scotland once it has been passed at Westminster.

But he has written to Home Secretary Sajid Javid to express "grave concerns" about the delays.

It comes after STV News' told how Teresa McCann from Edinburgh feared for her life after an acid attack in Edinburgh last week.

Mr Yousaf said that high-calibre rifles should not be exempted from the new law "due to the interests of a small minority of shooters".

He added: "It is critical that you are able to reassure me and the Scottish Parliament that this Bill is still on track and will be returned to the House of Commons very shortly."

The new law would ban online retailers selling blades to juveniles.

Carrying corrosive liquids and the possession of knuckledusters, 'death stars' and other weapons will also be outlawed.

Ms McCann suffered permanent and life-changing injuries in a doorstep attack in Edinburgh on Friday night.

The 37-year-old told STV News she feared she would die when a masked attacker threw a corrosive liquid onto her face and body.

Speaking from hospital, the brave mum said: "My face was literally melting - the pain was indescribable.

"I really did think I was going to die. There's no motive as to why someone has done this."

Teresa, who urged her attacker to hand himself over to police, faces weeks of medical treatment including skin grafts.

Scottish Conservative MSP Rachael Hamilton, who has campaigned on the blight of acid attacks, told STV News: "The increasing rate of acid attacks across the UK is completely unacceptable.

"There's no more time to wait for action - we need to come down on these people like a ton of bricks and we need to do it now.

"Governments on both sides of the border need to get their heads together and work out a way forward.

"Acid attacks destroy lives, and it's time we came up with a punishment to reflect that, as well as a system of assessing the scale of it."

Last month, convicted killer Thomas Charnley was found guilty of throwing acid on a man in a supermarket in Viewpark, Lanarkshire in April.

And in August, schoolgirl Emily Bowen, 18, was jailed for scarring a love rival in an attack at a school in East Lothian last year.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "We're seeking Parliament's approval for new strict controls to apply in Scotland that would see corrosives categorised as an offensive weapon, like knives, to make our communities safer and assist the police in dealing with anyone who seeks to use them against other people.

"The UK-wide Offensive Weapons Bill, crafted between the UK Government and the Scottish Government, will create a ban on the sale of certain corrosives to under 18s and criminalise the possession of corrosives in public."

A Home Office spokesman said the government was "committed to re-scheduling the remaining parliamentary stages as soon as possible".