AN Alcester man appeared before Dudley Magistrates Court on Monday, June 6 charged with two counts of attempted murder after a fire on Chapelhouse Lane, Cradley.

Daniel Watkins, of Smiths Close, Alcester, was remanded in custody to appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday, July 4.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said a woman, aged 34, and a six-year-old girl were treated in hospital for smoke inhalation following the fire in the early hours of Friday, May 3.