A Yellowknife man has been charged with attempted murder after a woman was stabbed during a break-in at a house in Mayerthorpe, Alta., early Thursday morning.

Travis Harold Bourke, 35, also faces charges of aggravated assault and breaking and entering with intent to commit aggravated assault, RCMP said Friday.

A woman told police she awoke to find a man standing in her bedroom doorway holding a hammer and a utility knife.

The man attacked her with the hammer and the knife, resulting in deep cuts to her neck, RCMP said. She fought back and the two of them fell down a flight of stairs.

The man then choked the woman until she was unconscious, RCMP said.

The attacker fled the house after the woman's son woke up and ran to help her. A suspect, who was not known to the victim, was arrested four hours later walking on a highway, police said.

The woman was treated for the injuries to her neck.

Bourke also faces four other charges in relation to incidents that police allege occurred after the break-in. Those include theft under $5,000, breaking and entering at a business, mischief under $5,000 and trespassing at night.