TWO men have been charged with attempted murder following a stabbing in Berry Hill last week, while the victim remains in hospital in a stable condition.

Police confirmed today (Tuesday, August 15) that George Gadsby, 25 and of no fixed address, and Leigh Papps, 34 and of Greenfield Road, Joy’s Green, Lydbrook, have both been charged with attempted murder in connection with the incident.

Emergency services were called to respond following the stabbing on Wednesday, August 9, which is thought to have taken place near The Gamekeepers Inn in Hillcrest Road at around 4.20pm.

A man in his 20s was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol with serious injuries, and police said in a statement on Thursday (August 10) that his condition had been described as “critical but stable”.

One person was arrested on Wednesday evening and two further arrests were made on Thursday, with the police investigation ongoing.

A woman in her 20s from the Forest was arrested on Thursday morning in connection with the incident, with a man in his 30s arrested that afternoon. 

It followed the arrest of another man in his 30s on Wednesday night.

Gadsby and Papps appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on Saturday (August 12) and were remanded in custody. 

They are next due to appear at Gloucester Crown Court on September 15.

Police confirmed today that the victim, a man aged in his 20s, remains in hospital in a stable condition.

Two other people who had been arrested in connection with the incident, a woman in her 20s and a man in his 30s, were later released on police bail. 

The incident last Wednesday shook the local community, many of whom took to the Berry Hill Life Facebook page to share information out of concern for each other's safety.

A picture posted by a passer by showed armed officers at the scene, and a police helicopter was seen circling in the Berry Hill, Coleford and Lydbrook areas into the evening.

Residents were being escorted in and out of Hillcrest Road by police while the investigation continued.

The incident is the second stabbing to have occurred in the Coleford area this summer, following the fatal stabbing of 20 year-old Luke Wasley in Coleford town centre back in June.

Police are asking anyone with information about the incident last week to make contact online, quoting incident 336 of August 9.