By Harry Mottram: Last month a man was arrested in Bath and later charged with the attempted murder of a woman in Ivy Avenue in Southdown Bath. Matthew Jones, a teacher of Sociology and History teacher has been charged with the stabbing by police following the incident ion Monday 26th February. Jones is a member of staff at Frome College in Somerset. The college have issued the following statement following concerns from students and parents:
“As you may be aware from the media, one of our members of staff, Matthew Jones, Sociology and History teacher has been charged by police following an incident in Bath on Monday 26th February. Please be assured this was not in any way related to Frome College nor our College community and there are no safeguarding concerns.
“We will write specifically to those students and families whose lessons are affected. These will be covered, especially exam classes, with specialist teachers where possible. We will continue to offer our support to any student affected by this news.
“As this is an ongoing police investigation, we cannot comment any further at this time. If you do have any specific concerns regarding this matter, please contact Emma Reynolds or Vicky West directly.”
A 28-year-old Matthew Jones, of Ivy Avenue, Southdown, appeared in court on Friday 1st March, and was due to appear again at Bristol Crown Court on 20th March. Jones was arrested in connection with the stabbing of a woman in her 20s in the Dransfield Way area of Oldfield Park in Bath on Monday 26th February. She remains in hospital in a critical condition while Jones remains in custody.
Detectives are treating the stabbing as an isolated incident, having found no evidence of any wider risk to the public however the incident has sent shock waves through the local community. Bath has experienced a number of stabbing incidents in the last 12 months including fatalities.