Two men have been charged with attempted murder in connection with the stabbing of a man in his 30s in north Belfast on Easter Monday.

Anthony Harrison, 30, of Brookhill Avenue, and James Parke, 28, of north Belfast’s Cliftonville Road, have been arrested.

Both deny attempting to murder someone on Clifton Drive and possessing a sword in public.

On Wednesday, details of the stabbing were revealed in Belfast Magistrates’ Court.

According to police, the victim sustained life-threatening injuries during the attack and is still critically ill in the hospital.

Mr Harrison is also charged with possessing ammunition under suspicious circumstances and possessing large amounts of cannabis and diazepam.

Mr Parke is also charged with public possession of an offensive weapon and possession of Class B narcotics with the intent to supply.

A detective opposing bail stated that this was a “very brutal and unprovoked attack.”

Mr Harrison’s counsel claimed his client denied any participation.

The lawyer for Mr Parke highlighted problems about the forensic evidence in the case and said police agreed that his client was not the accused “knife man”.

Both men were given bail under tight terms including curfews, electronic monitoring and a ban on contacting witnesses.

The judge also set an exclusion zone for the men to keep away from portions of north Belfast.

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