Man in serious condition after daylight knife attack

A MAN has been seriously injured after he was slashed in the face, neck and stomach during a frenzied knife attack outside a garage.

The violent incident, on Portobello High Street, was captured on CCTV by the horrified owner of a neighbouring business.

The footage, obtained by

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Roger Park Motors, shows two men running away from outside the premises of AGS Motor Company Ltd after the victim was repeatedly slashed in a car park just before 1pm yesterday.

Shortly afterwards, the CCTV clip shows two men sprinting after the criminals, who made their way down Portobello High Street in the direction of Kwik Fit.

It is understood that the badly injured 51-year-old was taken to Moira Park Surgery, before being rushed to the ERI by ambulance. His injuries were described by police as serious, but not life-threatening.

Police quickly swooped on the scene yesterday, where they were said to have examined a BMW car, which was later removed from the scene.

Roger Park, whose business captured the incident on CCTV, said he had heard a commotion yesterday just before 1pm.

He said: “I heard a lot of shouting and then saw two guys legging it towards the High Street. Shortly after, two others gave chase.

“We watched what had happened on our CCTV. On one camera in the background you can see the guys dealing with another guy, then you see them pounce. It looks like quite a kerfuffle. On another camera you see two men running away.

“There were a lot of police around this afternoon. They sent in a recovery vehicle to pick up a BMW.”

Police today said they were investigating a serious assault, and said two men responsible for the assault were believed to have fled the scene in a silver-coloured saloon car.

The first was described as white, aged between 40 and 50, and had a gaunt appearance. He was wearing a dark coloured cap, sunglasses, dark coloured clothes and spoke with a Scots accent.

The other had light brown skin, was around 30 years of age and was wearing dark coloured clothes and white trainers.

A spokesman said: “Lothian and Borders Police are investigating following a serious assault in Portobello High Street.

“A 51-year-old man suffered injuries to his face, neck and abdomen during the incident, which happened around 1pm on Friday.

“Anyone who was in the area and saw anything suspicious or who can help officers identify those responsible for this assault is asked to contact police immediately.”

No-one at AGS could be contacted for comment.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131-311 3131 or Crimestoppers in complete anonymity on 0800-5550 111.