Marble Arch hotel hammer attack attempted murder charge Published duration 11 April 2014

image copyright PA image caption Three women were attacked in their room in Cumberland Hotel in Marble Arch

A man has been charged with attempting to murder three women who were attacked with a hammer in a central London hotel.

The attack on the tourists took place in a room on the seventh floor of the Cumberland Hotel in Marble Arch in the early hours of 6 April.

Philip Spence, 32, was charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated burglary.

Three other people have been charged with handling stolen goods.

Thomas Efremi, 56, of Upper Handa Walk, Islington, was charged with handling stolen goods and fraud by false representation while James Moss, 33, of Hanley Road, north London, was charged with handling stolen goods.

They will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court along with Mr Spence, of no fixed address, on Saturday.

Carly Baker, 31, also of Hanley Road, was charged with handling stolen goods and will appear at the same court on Tuesday.

A 34-year-old man, who was also arrested over the attack, has been bailed to return in May.

All three women, from the United Arab Emirates, aged in their 30s, remain in hospital, but one of them remains in a critical condition, police said.