Man in hospital after being 'attacked with knife' in attempted dognapping in Balerno

A man has been taken to hospital after being attacked with a knife in an attempted dognapping outside Edinburgh.

The 43-year-old victim was walking in a field in Balerno near the National Cycle Route 75 and Lanark Road West between 5.15pm and 5.30pm on Tuesday, February 13.

He was approach by two men. One tried to take the dog and the other assaulted him with a blade.

The man was taken by ambulance to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.

Officers said that the first suspect is described as white, around 50 years old and 5ft 6in tall with a stocky build and greying ginger hair.

At the time he was wearing a black thermal beanie hat, black puffer jacket and spoke with a local accent.

The second man is described as white, around 5ft 10in tall with a slim build, and between 20 and 30 years old.

He was clean shaven, and wearing a hat, a black jacket with green writing, pale blue denim jeans, tan coloured boots.

They made off towards Ravelrig Road and disappeared from view.

Detective inspector Martin Smith, of Edinburgh CID, said: “This appears to be an attempt to rob the man of his dog, and it is vital that we establish the full circumstances of what happened and trace the men responsible.

“I would like to speak to anyone who was in the area between 5pm and 6pm on Tuesday who saw or heard anything suspicious. Similarly, anyone with private CCTV, doorbell footage or dashcam of the area is urged to review the footage and bring anything significant to our attention.

“Officers will be carrying out additional patrols in the area and anyone with any concerns can approach these officers.”

Anyone with any information can call 101, quoting incident 2591 of Tuesday, February 13, 2024.