A man who has been charged after an 11-year-old girl was stabbed in central London has been pictured for the first time.

Ioan Pintaru, 32, has been charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article less than a day after the girl was injured in an attack in Leicester Square.

He is accused of stabbing her “eight times” after grabbing her while she was with her mother.

Initial reports suggested the girl’s mum, 34, was also stabbed in the incident but police have confirmed blood from her daughter was mistaken as her own injuries.

The court heard Pintaru is a Romanian citizen of no fixed address, while prosecutor David Burns said a woman and her 11-year-old daughter were in Leicester Square as tourists.

A man then “approached the girl, placed her into a headlock, he’s then stabbed her eight times to the body”, Mr Burns said.

He added she was wounded in the face, shoulder, wrist and neck area.

Mr Burns told the court the girl is still in hospital and will need plastic surgery.

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Officers were called to the scene at 11.34am on Monday following reports of a stabbing.

The girl was found with stab wounds and was taken to hospital where her injuries were assessed as serious but not life-threatening.

Pintaru, who has no fixed address, has been remanded in custody and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later on Tuesday.

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A shop security guard described how he “heard a scream” and “jumped on” a man attacking the child before holding him down and taking the knife off him.

“I just saw a kid getting stabbed and I just tried to save her. It’s my duty to just save them,” Abdullah, 29, said.

He said he and his colleagues gave first aid to the child before police arrived within four minutes of the attack on Monday morning.

Police praised the bravery of those who stepped in to help.

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