A man has sustained life-threatening injuries and two others were taken to hospital following a serious assault in Glenrothes in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Police have launched a major investigation following the incident on Woodside Road, near Falcon Drive, which took place at around 1am.
Such was the extent of the injuries sustained by one of the men that he was taken to the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh for specialist treatment.
The other two were taken to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy for treatment to their wounds.
All three are understood to be in their fifties.
Officers from Police Scotland sealed off an area of pavement on Woodside Road , while a cardboard box was in place, seemingly to cover a pool of blood.
An urgent appeal for witnesses has now been launched by Detective Inspector Colin Robson, who said: “We’re continuing extensive enquiries into this incident which resulted in a man sustaining life-threatening injuries, and two other males also sustaining serious injuries in the incident, both of which also required emergency hospital treatment.
“Our early enquiries have revealed that there was an disturbance in the area of Woodside Road, Glenrothes, near to Dovecot Park, in the early hours of the morning.
“We’re carrying out door to door enquiries around the area to try to find out more information from local residents but I’d like to further this by appealing directly to the wider public for their assistance.
“We have extra officers dedicated to investigating the incident and have increased high visibility patrols in the area.”
Anybody with information can contact Glenrothes CID on 101.
Information can also be passed in confidence to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.