An Aberdeen man continues to fight for his life today after being stabbed in the heart when he and his brother went to buy a car in Edinburgh.
Peter Stewart, 43, is understood to have been struck 15 times by the attackers who pounced on him and his brother James, 45, after responding to an ad on the Gumtree website.
The pair, who were carrying £6,000 to buy the vehicle, were struck by the thugs in a common close of a tenement in the Pilton area of the capital.
Peter was left with severe injuries to his chest and body with James recovering from wounds to his legs, back and stomach.
James’ daughter Nicole, 20, of Aberdeen, told reporters that it was “touch and go” for her uncle, who remains in critical condition at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with his wife Susan and daughter Claire, 25, by his bedside.
She said: “It’s touch and go for Peter because he was stabbed in the heart. They don’t know if he is going to pull through.”
The pair had travelled to Edinburgh on Wednesday morning to buy the car but when they did not return that night, their families raised the alarm.
Ms Stewart said she had been frantically trying to reach her dad but was then contacted by police at 11pm that night with the devastating news.
James has returned to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after receiving a blood transfusion.
It is understood he is “groggy and sore” but improving.
James’ other daughter, Katelin, 17, said: “Dad would do anything for his family. It’s a good job he was there because Peter would not have stood a chance on his own. But I wish neither of them had gone down there. It is absolutely disgusting.
“I keep imagining what it must have been like for Dad. He must have been terrified.”