DETECTIVES are investigating the assault and abduction of a man in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

The 45-year-old victim, who is Chinese, was entering a common stair in Royston Mains Crescent when three men wearing scarves over their faces threatened him with a knife and stole the contents of his pockets.

The man was then forced into the back of a black car, which drove off towards Crewe Road North.

After a short time, the car stopped at a walkway between the Morrisons supermarket and the Ainslie Park Leisure Centre and the victim was thrown out. He sought help from passing cyclists, but was then dragged back into the car and taken back to Royston Mains Crescent, where the suspects made off.

All three men are described as white, in their twenties and of average height.

Officers are seeking to trace three cyclists who may have seen the man in distress.