A 17-year-old boy has been jailed for seven years after stabbing two brothers he lured from Aberdeen to Edinburgh on the pretence of a drug deal.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, attacked the two men and tried to steal £6500 in cash.

The High Court in Livingston previously heard that on April 8 last year, brothers James and Peter Stewart had travelled from Aberdeen and received a series of calls directing them to a meeting point.

It was there they met the teenager, who got into their car and said he would direct them to their final destination.

The victims were then attacked in a common stairwell on Wardieburn Street West in Edinburgh.

Peter Stewart, 44, was left in a critical condition after being stabbed in the heart, while his older brother James, 46, also suffered stab wounds.

Their teenage attacker had denied charges of attempted murder, assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement and assault but was found guilty at the trial last month.

Sentencing him at the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday, Lord Glennie said: "I accept it was a single blow from you, but Mr Stewart could well have died."

The trial heard the young attacker had been "manipulated" into the operation by his uncle, who is an inmate at Shotts prison.

Peter Stewart said the youth led them into a close at a block of flats before he spun round and attacked his brother.

He told the court: "All I saw was the glint, definitely metal, and my brother falling to one side. As soon as I saw it happening I moved forward to try to defend [James]."

The younger brother was then stabbed through the lung into the heart, severing the right ventricle.

Defence counsel Brian McConnachie QC said of the youth: "There is no dispute that this was a matter not of [the accused's] own making.

"He was manipulated, in some senses, into this situation by his uncle, who is a serving prisoner."

Speaking after the sentencing, High Court Procurator Fiscal for the east of Scotland, Kenny Donnelly, said: "This man had no intention of going through with any sort of deal. Motivated by greed, his sole aim was to rob his victims using whatever violent means he deemed necessary.

"There is simply no excuse for such behaviour in any circumstances but particularly when it involves the use of a knife as a weapon. It is only through good fortune that this violent attack did not result in a fatality."