NEIGHBOURS watched helplessly as a pregnant woman was stabbed by her boyfriend in a frenzied attack.

Magdalena Stapleton, who is four-and-a-half-months pregnant, was stabbed 10 times in front of her four children while she was visiting her next-door-neighbour in Buckskin, Basingstoke.

The attack left her fighting for her life.

Just 20 minutes after the stabbing, the body of a man was discovered inside a burnt-out car in Hatch Warren. It was believed to be the woman's partner, known locally as Neil Small.

Miss Stapleton's neighbour Douglas Bull, of Charnwood Close, yesterday told The Gazette that the 27-year-old had just popped in with her children on Monday, September 18.

He said he was playing cards with his three children, as well as Miss Stapleton's family and some friends, when the horrific attack began at about 6.45pm.

"It all happened within seconds," said 37-year-old Mr Bull.

"He her boyfriend burst through the door and said I want to talk to Magdalena'. I asked him to leave but he refused and pushed past me.

"Then he started stabbing her. It was a frenzied, unprovoked attack.

"He threatened us with the knife so my daughter and I tried to get all the children out and then we just ran."

Mr Bull said his 14-year-old daughter Charlie called the ambulance and then he saw the attacker run past them.

"I ran back inside to help Magdalena," he added. "We kept her alive until the ambulance came, and we did enough to save her life.

"If she had been on her own, I don't think she would have survived."

Miss Stapleton was taken to Basingstoke hospital, where she underwent an emergency operation.

On Wednesday, September 20, as The Gazette went to press, she was currently in intensive care and her condition was described as stable. Police have confirmed that her unborn baby survived.

About 20 minutes after the attack, the emergency services were called to an area behind Argos in Hatch Warren Retail Park after a member of the public reported a fire in the delivery area behind the shops.

Police and three appliances from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene and found a man's body inside the burnt-out car.

A post-mortem examination revealed that he died from carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation.

A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said they were linking the man to the stabbing.

The spokesman added that they are not looking for anyone else in connection with his death.

Forensic teams spent Tuesday morning combing both scenes for vital evidence. A police cordon was set up around three houses in Charnwood Close and also around the delivery area at Hatch Warren Retail Park.

Local residents spoke of their shock and disbelief that a stabbing had taken place in their community. One woman, who lives on the estate, described Miss Stapleton as "the nicest person you could ever meet".

Another local woman, who did not want to be named, said she had been walking to the shops on Monday night when she saw two of Miss Stapleton's children running along the path, crying and saying "my mummy is dying".

Basingstoke's top cop Chief Inspector Jill Baldry has reassured the community that this was an isolated incident.

She said: "It is a very tragic set of circumstances and we are doing all we can to support the families through what is clearly a difficult time."

Anyone with any information about either incident is asked to contact Basingstoke CID on 0845 045 4545.