A MAN was today critically ill after being stabbed in the chest and back as he was doing his shopping.

The 24-year-old man was shopping at the One-Stop shop in the Liden Centre when he suffered the knife injuries in an unprovoked attack.

Horrified shop staff called police, saying a man had been stabbed several times and was bleeding heavily.

Paramedics rushed the victim to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where he underwent emergency surgery.

His condition today was described as critical but stable.

Detectives are appealing for witnesses who were shopping in the store at the time of the attack, around 8am yesterday.

They are searching for a man in his 40s wearing glasses and a baseball cap and an elderly man wearing glasses and a light coloured coat, who were both seen in the store at the time.

A 45-year-old Swindon man was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with attempted murder.

He was due to appear at Swindon Magistrates Court this morning.

Detectives also recovered a knife believed to have been used in the attack, which has been sent off for forensic examination.

Anyone with information on the attack should call Acting Detective Inspector Tim Corner on Swindon 528111 or the confidential Crimestoppers line on 0800 555111.