A man accused of murdering three prostitutes attempted suicide for a second time in prison, it emerged yesterday.

Stephen Griffiths, 40, was treated for "superficial wounds" at HMP Wakefield in Yorkshire, where he is being held on remand, a prison spokesman said. He was found by staff after reportedly slashing his throat with a shard of glass in his cell on Friday morning.

Griffiths, who referred to himself as the 'Crossbow Cannibal' when he appeared before magistrates, is charged with murdering Bradford sex workers Suzanne Blamires, Shelley Armitage and Susan Rushworth.

He first attempted suicide in June when he was reportedly found unconscious on the floor of his cell with a sock tied round his neck.

"A prisoner at HMP Wakefield received superficial wounds after cutting himself with glass," a prison service spokesman said. "He was treated in the healthcare centre of the prison after staff intervened."

The criminology student is charged with murdering Blamires, 36, between 20 and 25 May; murdering Rushworth, 43, between 22 June 2009 and 25 May this year; and murdering Armitage, 31, between 25 April and 25 May. Blamires was last seen on 21 May, Armitage has been missing since 26 April and Rushworth disappeared on 22 June last year.

Body parts belonging to Blamires were found in the River Aire in Shipley on 25 May and tests confirmed that human tissue later found in the water belonged to Armitage.

Griffiths was arrested on 24 May at a flat on the edge of Bradford's red-light district.