A WOMAN is in a stable condition in hospital after suffering multiple stab wounds at an address in Chelmsford.

Police were contacted shortly after 6am on Saturday, June 23 following concerns for the welfare of a woman inside the house in Dukes Lane.

Officers then discovered a woman in her 40s from the house had been taken into Broomfield Hospital suffering from multiple stab wounds.

Martyn Bloomfield was arrested at his home address an hour later and was subsequently charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of assault and one count of failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis.

The 56-year-old shopkeeper from Dukes Lane in Chelmsford has been detained in police custody prior to his appearance at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on Monday, June 25.