A man has been left in a serious condition after being stabbed in the neck during a confrontation at the doorway of his home in Fife.
The 36-year-old man, who has been named locally as Michael Gardiner, was found to have suffered a serious neck injury.
He was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where he remains in a serious but stable condition.
Police said they were treating the stabbing as an attempted murder and wanted to trace two men who fled the scene following the confrontation.
Detective Sergeant Alexander Brydon of Fife’s Criminal Investigation Department said: “This was a vicious attack which has left victim seriously harmed.
“Thankfully the victim was quickly attended to, however the consequences of this attack could have been much more serious.
“We are eager to trace the two men involved as soon as possible.
“I would appeal to anyone who was in the Fod Street area of Halbeath on Monday evening and saw anything suspicious, to come forward at their earliest convenience.”
A police cordon around the property remained in place on Tuesday morning.
A lane which leads from Fod Street to a series of wooden garages to the rear of the block of houses and to Pittsburgh Road was also sealed off.
Uniformed officers remained on the scene while investigators carried out door-to-door inquiries.
Locals reported seeing a “heavy” emergency services presence in the area throughout the night including forensic experts.
One woman said: “It was like something off the TV. I’ve never seen so many police out in the street before.
“When we saw that, we knew that something really serious had happened. You don’t expect something like this to happen on your doorstep.
“It was still light outside when it happened so someone must have seen something. The police were round last night asking for details of who was in the house.
“I hope they catch whoever is responsible soon.”
Another neighbour said: “It must have happened inside the flat as we could see the paramedics going in and out.
“There were three ambulances here so we thought he must have been in a bad way. The men in white suits were looking around the sheds and in the nearby gardens.”
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We received a call at 7.26pm on Monday 1 April to attend an incident on Fod Street, Dunfermline.
“Three ambulances and the trauma team were dispatched to the scene and one patient was conveyed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for further treatment.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident 3583 of April 1.
