A 17-YEAR-OLD soldier from Blackburn has appeared at Bristol Crown Court charged with attempted murder.

The private, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of carrying out an attack with a pick axe on Lance Corporal Konrad Bisping, 26, from Clitheroe. Mr Bisping suffered serious head wounds when leading a platoon of soldiers during manoeuvres with the 1st Battalion the Queen's Lancashire Regiment on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. The 17-year-old's case was adjourned for psychiatric reports until April 22, when he is expected to enter a plea.