Detectives investigating a spate of assaults in Leicester, including the suspected stabbing of a 10-year-old boy, have charged a man with four counts of attempted murder.

Carlos Vinodchandra Racitalal, of Finsbury Road, Leicester, was arrested after a CCTV appeal issued by Leicestershire Police on Monday.

A police spokesman said 32-year-old Racitalal is due to appear before magistrates on Wednesday charged with four counts of attempted murder.

The charges relate to a woman aged in her 30s who was assaulted in Doncaster Road on January 14, a pensioner who suffered wounds to his head and hands in Dean Road on January 16, and a 10-year-old boy who was treated in hospital after being injured in Belper Street on January 18.

The fourth charge relates to a road collision on January 2 in which a child was struck by a vehicle in Exploration Drive.

Racitalal has also been charged with three counts of possession of a knife, blade or sharp pointed article in a public place, relating to the assaults in Doncaster Road, Dean Road and Belper Street.