An Italian wanted for attempted murder has been caught by Scottish police using a false passport.

Francesco Cusinu was returned to Sardinia yesterday where he faces three and a half years in jail for the near-fatal stabbing of another man.

News sources on the Mediterranean island said Cusinu, who is believed to be 30, fled to Scotland after an October 2014 assault.

Two other men had already been jailed for the attack, which took place in the central Sardinian village of Nuoro. Cusinu had been out of custody on probation when he obtained the false passport and fled “on the first flight to Scotland”, according to the local newspaper La Nuova Sardegna.

Other sources said the Cusinu had been caught when Scottish police checked his documents. It is not clear how long he had been in Scotland or why police looked at his passport.

He was arrested at Cagliari Airport on Tuesday after arriving on a flight from London.

Local reports suggested the stabbing came after scuffles in the street. Cusinu, they said, went home after the fight and was found asleep in bed and arrested the following morning.