Police are warning that people caught with pepper spray face up to 20 years in prison after a weekend attack on an 18-year-old Sandys man.

The attack marks the third report about the noxious spray in the last ten days.

The latest victim was attacked by three men outside La Coquille following a graduation ball for Bermuda High School students.

After spraying the man, the three attackers kicked him and tried to grab his gold necklace but they failed and fled.

The victim was treated in hospital and released.

Police say the attackers were black and one wore a black and white polo shirt but no one in the large crowd was willing to provide further information.

Police spokesman Dwayne Caines said, although the sprays are common in the States and Canada where they are carried by women for self protection, they are illegal here and are now in the hands of criminals.

Mr. Caines said: ?In our law there is no distinction between mace, pepper spray and a 9-mm weapon.

?We recognise safety is an issue but there are other means women can use to protect themselves.

?They are finding their way into the hands of juveniles who are using them as another way to disable individuals.?

Widely available on the Internet, the sprays use extracts from Cayenne ? the world?s hottest pepper ? to inflame mucous membranes resulting in temporary blindness.

The effects last up to an hour and cause no lasting damage despite inflaming the breathing tube tissues which, according to one website, cuts off ?all but life support breathing?.

Bermuda High School for Girls principal Roy Napier said he was unaware of the incident.

He said the prom had not been arranged by the school but he believed there was a private party put on by the children and parents.