A teenage boy from London has appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of a woman who suffered multiple stab wounds during an alleged knife attack in Needham Market.

The 16-year-old, from Ilford, who cannot be named due to his age, appeared first before magistrates and then in front of a judge at Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday.

He has been charged with the attempted murder of 29-year-old Siobhan Phillips, who, the court heard, had been stabbed repeatedly in Needham Market on Saturday.

The boy, who was arrested in London on Sunday, was also charged with possession of a bladed article on the same date in Quinton Road, Needham Market.

Dressed in a grey tracksuit, he spoke only to confirm his personal details during a brief hearing at Suffolk Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

He was then remanded in youth detention to appear that afternoon at Ipswich Crown Court, where Judge Martyn Levett set a provisional trial date for March 16.

The boy was not asked to enter a plea and was further remanded in youth detention to appear before Ipswich Crown Court for a plea hearing on January 13.

On Saturday evening, police arrested a man in his 50s on suspicion of attempted murder.

He was taken for questioning at Bury St Edmunds police investigation centre and later released on bail, until November 14, pending further enquiries.

Police officers had been called to Quinton Road, Needham Market, at 6.10am on Saturday, to reports of woman having been found in a pool of blood, with multiple stab wounds, outside a bungalow.

She was taken to West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds, before being transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

The alleged victim was said to be in a stable condition in hospital after undergoing surgery.

She was said to have suffered a number of internal injuries.

A number of bungalows were cordoned off in the vicinity of Quinton Road as forensics officers combed the scene.

On Sunday, police and crime commissioner Tim Passmore said he was "shocked and appalled" to learn about the stabbing, adding: "I have the utmost sympathy for the victim."