A man was repeatedly stabbed as he stood outside a theatre during an attack police are treating as attempted murder.

The 41-year-old man was in an alcove of the King's Theatre in Edinburgh when the incident took place.

At about 9.45pm on Thursday, three men approached him and two began attacking him with bladed weapons.

He suffered a number of cuts and puncture wounds in the attack, police said.

The victim was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he continued to be treated on Friday morning.

His condition is not thought to be life-threatening.

One man has been detained and police say they are following a positive line of inquiry to identify the other attacker.

Detective sergeant Mark Lumsden from the violence reduction unit said: "This has been a very violent assault, which left the victim with several painful injuries requiring medical attention.

"We are currently pursuing a number of lines of investigation to identify those responsible but are really keen to hear from anyone who was in or around Tarvit Street on Thursday evening and witnessed what happened.

"In addition, anyone with any further information relevant to our ongoing inquiries is also urged to contact police immediately."

Anyone with information has been asked to call police on 101, quoting incident number 3975 of September 28.