Homeless teenager Robert Buckland has been convicted at the Old Bailey of attempting to murder a woman by plunging a knife into her head as she travelled in a deserted train carriage.

Buckland, 18, was remanded for psychiatric reports until February 13 when he will be sentenced.

The court heard that he had suffered from a severe psychopathic disorder from early childhood which occasionally exploded into violence.

Buckland said he had intended to snatch Alison Kennedy's handbag but had savagely knifed her in the skull in a rush of anger.

Miss Kennedy, 28, a charity worker with "a zest for life" miraculously survived the attack with the five-inch bladed Bowie-style hunting knife with serrated edge.

The court heard that she will never fully recover. She is due to have surgery again on February 1 in her native Northern Ireland.

She showed no sign of emotion as the jury of eight women and four men returned their guilty verdict after nearly four hours.

Buckland sat in the dock looking pale with his chin resting on clasped hands. Neither looked at each other.

Buckland, of no fixed address, had admitted wounding Miss Kennedy who was travelling on the Waterloo to Guildford train in March last year. But he denied attempting to murder her.

Judge Geoffrey Grigson ordered Buckland to be assessed by a doctor at Broadmoor hospital and also asked for an additional psychiatric report for the court.

He told Buckland: "You must understand that the fact I am doing this is no indication of the sentence which I will pass. It is simply so the court is fully informed as to your condition and whether it is treatable."

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