A MAN has denied trying to kill his former partner in a frenzied knife attack.

Matthew Sargent, 28, is accused of stabbing the 33-year-old victim at a flat in Osier Drive, Noak Bridge.

Sargent, of no fixed address, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent when he appeared at Basildon Crown Court on Monday, but his plea was not accepted by the prosecution.

He denied the more serious charge of attempted murder and will stand trial.

The court was told the victim was found in a pool of blood after being attacked in front of her young child on August 22.

She was taken to Basildon Hospital and later transferred to a London hospital for treatment to serious head and face injuries.

At an earlier hearing Sargent’s sister admitted perverting the course of justice.

Emily Sargent, 28, of Ascot Drive, Basildon, was said to have washed her brother’s clothes the day after the incident and hid them in her loft.

She then made no mention of this when interviewed by police.

She will be sentenced once her brother’s trial has concluded.

The trial is due to start on April 11, and is expected to last two days.

At an earlier court hearing, she was warned she could expect to go to jail.