A man stabbed a woman in the middle of a Shropshire town in front of horrified shoppers in broad daylight.

The drama unfolded in Sandford Avenue, Church Stretton, yesterday before the man is believed to have run away and then turned the knife on himself.

The woman involved in the incident, which happened at 2.45pm, was named locally as Ann Parton.

Mrs Parton, who is in her 60s, suffered serious neck, face and shoulder injuries and was taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital where she is stable.

The man was airlifted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where he is being treated for neck injuries and is in a stable condition.

Police today confirmed the man had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

No-one else was injured and police said nobody else was involved and that the “two casualties are known to each other”.

Witnesses described how the events unfolded yesterday afternoon, claiming they saw a man walking towards Mrs Parton before attacking her from behind.

They allege that he then fled from chasing police before he is believed to have stabbed himself in the neck and collapsed.

An off-duty nurse came to the rescue of Mrs Parton, using dressings from a nearby chemist to stem the blood.

Police immediately cordoned off most of the town centre, while two ambulances and an air ambulance arrived at the scene.

Alison Wren, 23, who works in Acorn Wholefood Restaurant and Coffee House, said she heard a woman screaming on the street outside.

She said: “I ran to the window and saw a man holding a woman with a knife at her throat. Passers-by ran towards the man and the woman but the man fled away from the scene.

“The woman was lying on the pavement with blood on her body and on the pavement. She was bleeding from the face and neck.

“The police were on the scene very quickly as there is a station close by. She was moving, but it did look very serious.”

Glynn Lancashire, of Daysdrove butchers in Easthope Road, said a man had passed him in the street wearing a blood-soaked shirt.

Mr Lancashire said: “He was smartly dressed in a suit and tie, but his shirt was covered in blood.

“It wasn’t until all the police arrived that I realised what I’d seen.”

Mrs Parton is understood to live in Mcclintock Place in Church Stretton. She is thought to be separated from her husband Len who lives in Upper Galdeford in Ludlow. Police were last night at Mr Parton’s address.

The couple are believed to have previously lived together at Essex Road in Church Stretton, and are thought to have three children.

Today Detective Chief Inspector Alan Edwards said: “This is clearly a serious incident and we are still in the process of investigating all the circumstances.

“As part of our investigations, it is important anyone who witnessed what happened contacts Ludlow or Shrewsbury police station on 0300 3333000.

Richard Ewels, a spokesman for West Mercia Police, today said: “The man in hospital has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He remains in hospital.”

By Danny Carden and John Kirk