A 29-year-old man"repeatedly stabbed" a woman he believed worked at GCHQ as she left a leisure centre, a court has heard.

Joshua Bowles was charged with attempted murder for the assault at the sports centre in Cheltenham on March 9 following an investigation by counter-terror detectives.

Prosecutors said he "held views in his mind" about the type of work he thought she did at GCHQ, which is situated just three miles from the scene of the attack.

The woman, who is referred to in charges by the code number “99230”, was stabbed and punched in the assault and remains in hospital in a stable condition.
At Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday, prosecutors said the woman suffered knife wounds to the abdomen, leg and chest.

The court heard Mr Bowles is also charged with causing actual bodily harm to another person, Alex Fuentes, who confronted him in the car park after the attack.

Dressed in a grey tracksuit, Mr Bowles, who spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth, had a short brown beard and brown hair.

He was not asked to enter a plea during his brief appearance.

Prosecutor Kathryn Selby said he should be dealt with under the terrorism protocol because he allegedly targeted the woman as he believed she worked for GCHQ.

The leisure centre where the attack took place is just a mile from the town centre and around three miles away from the GCHQ building.

GCHQ, which opened its new headquarters in 2002, has around 6,000 staff, including mathematicians and analysts who listen in and monitor millions of forms of communication from around the globe.

The defendant, of the Up Hatherley suburb of Cheltenham, was remanded in custody ahead of a hearing at the Old Bailey on 31 March.