A man repeatedly stabbed in Paisley is thought to have been the victim of a targeted attack.

The 45-year-old was walking on Causeyside Street near its junction with Espedair Street shortly before 5pm on Thursday when he was assaulted by three men.

He was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, where he was treated and has since been released.

Police are now appealing for anyone with information on the incident to come forward.

Detective constable Chris Hughes said: "Following our review of CCTV, several people, both men and women, are seen outside the bar at the corner of Causeyside Street and Stevenson Street at the time of the attack and will more than likely have seen it happen from where they were.

"We believe from our investigations that this attack was not random, the men knew who they were going to attack and they did so in a vicious manner in front of a good number of people.

"Causeyside Street is one of the busiest streets in Paisley and this happened early on a Thursday evening so the area would have been busy with both pedestrians and vehicles."

He added: "We would encourage people to get in touch with police, especially those mentioned as being seen on CCTV, as their evidence may be of great assistance to the enquiry."

The first man is described as 6ft, aged 20 to 40 with a stocky build. He was wearing a light jacket, white T-shirt and blue skinny jeans.

Police said the second man was 6ft 2in, 30-40 and with a skinny build. He had short dark hair and wore blue skinny jeans.

The third man was also 6ft 2in, between 40 and 50 with a heavy build and short greying hair. All three were white.

Any information can be passed to Paisley CID on 101.