Four men are facing attempted murder charges after motorists were allegedly assaulted following a collision on a Moray road.
Several motorbikes and at least one car were involved in the collision which sparked the alleged skirmish on the A98 Buckie to Banff road at Cullen at the weekend.
Three people were taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in the aftermath with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Police have stressed that the incident is continuing to be treated as an “isolated” case.
Yesterday four men appeared from custody at Elgin Sheriff Court to face accusations in connection with the incident.
Ian Ewing, 42, Patrick Noble, 51, Kyle Urquhart, 21, all from Aberdeen, and Ian Yeomans, 56, from Peterhead, face five charges of assault to danger of life and attempted murder. Yeomans faces a further charge of possessing an item with a blade or point in a public place.
They made no plea or declaration during the court hearing, which was held in private. No date has been set for their next appearance and all were released on bail.
Last night extra police patrols were being carried out throughout Cullen as the investigation continues.
Keith and Cullen councillor Ron Shepherd explained the weekend incident had shocked the coastal community.
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He said: “Everybody has been speaking about it. It was quite a frightening thing to have happened here, I think a lot of people have been shocked by it.
“A lot of motorbike groups stop in Cullen for an ice-cream or a bag of chips like everybody else.”
The A98 was closed at the western approach to the town for about 24 hours after the incident, which happened at about 4.30pm on Saturday.
Specialist officers were at the scene for much of the following day to gather evidence about the crash and the alleged attacks.
Emergency services have declined to comment about whether the injuries sustained to the people taken to hospital were sustained as a result of the crash.
Inspector Neil Campbell said: “I want to stress that this is being treated as an isolated incident, albeit one which I know will have caused concern given that behaviour of this nature is completely unheard of in this particular area.
“A significant amount of resources have been dedicated to this inquiry as our investigation continues to identify all those involved.”
Police have appealed for information for anyone travelling between Banff and Buckie on Saturday afternoon who thinks they witnessed the collision or aftermath.
An ambulance service spokesman said: “We received a call at 4.43pm hours on Saturday to attend an incident in Cullen. We dispatched two ambulances and our paramedic response unit to the scene.
“Three patients were transported to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.”
Anyone with information should contact police by calling 101.