An 11-year-old girl who was stabbed eight times in Leicester Square in London this week is an Australian national, the country’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has said. The girl was visiting London with her mother at the time of the attack. She was hospitalised and required plastic surgery for wounds to her face, shoulder, wrist and neck, a court was told on Tuesday. A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said consular assistance was being provided to two Australians injured in London. No other details were provided. Police were called to reports of the stabbing in the central London square just after 11.30am on Monday 12 August. Ioan Pintaru, 32, appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday 13 August, charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place, which the court heard was a steak knife. The court heard Pintaru was a Romanian citizen of no fixed address. The charges were read to him via an interpreter during the 10-minute hearing. David Burns, prosecuting, said a woman and her 11-year-old daughter were in Leicester Square as tourists when the defendant “approached the 11-year-old girl, placed her into a headlock … then stabbed her eight times to the body”. He added: “She sustained wounds to the face, shoulder, wrist and neck area. Fortunately, members of the public intervened, which prevented any further injury to the child.” He added that the defendant had been detained and searched and a knife had been found on his person. The girl was taken to hospital where she remains and is undergoing treatment. “I understand that she required plastic surgery for the injuries she sustained,” Burns said. Officers were called and “found the defendant being held by the members of the public”, the prosecutor added. Pintaru was remanded in custody and will appear at the Old Bailey on 10 September.