POLICE now believe a 45-year-old man was deliberately targeted in a 'vicious' attack in front of stunned onlookers outside a Paisley pub.

The victim was pounced on by three white six foot tall white men outside the Wellington Bar at the junction of Causeyside Street and Espedair Street in Paisley last Thursday afternoon.

Police believe a number of witnesses, who were outside the pub, hold vital clues to identify the attackers.

Detective Constable Chris Hughes of Paisley CID 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.

“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 victim was taken by ambulance to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley where he was treated and has since been released.

The first suspect is described aged between 20 to 40 years and was of stocky build wearing a light jacket white t-shirt and a blue skinny jeans.

The second man is aged between 30 -40 years. He had a skinny build with short dark hair, with grey tracksuit bottoms.

The third was bbetween 40-50 years old, with a heavy build with short hair- greying at the top.

Any information can be passed to Paisley CID quoting incident number 2475 of 17 August.

Alternatively, calls can be made to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where details can be given in confidence.