Two British cousins have been arrested and charged with attempted murder over a stabbing on Valentine's Day in Venice.

Italian police said the men, aged 19 and 21, had been charged with stabbing a 22-year-old local man in the neck on the even of 14 February at a bar in the city's historic centre.

The victim reportedly come close to bleeding to death, after the incident outside La Bussola Cocktail Lar near the Rialto Bridge.

Police say they think it was sparked by a "trivial disagreements". They believe the knife may have been thrown into the water, with state police diving units searching the Grand Canal in Venice's centre to find the alleged weapon.

The 19-year-old is alleged to be the perpetrator and the 21-year-old the suspected accomplice, Italy's Polizia Di Stato said in a statement.

"Officers from the Venice Flying Squad, coordinated by the local prosecutor's office, arrested two British nationals, aged 19 and 21," the police said.

"They are believed to be responsible for the attempted murder of a 22-year-old man, which occurred on Valentine's Day in the historic centre."

They added: "According to investigations, the motive appears to be trivial disagreements between young people, which escalated into violence over trivial matters".

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The police said the two men had been in Italy on holiday since the end of January, with return tickets booked. The arrests came after a search lasting more than a week.

Police say the cousins were found in an apartment that belonged to an Italian relative of one of the men, in Venice city centre.

The operation to locate them was supported by wiretaps, electronic surveillance, the monitoring of social media profiles and the exchange of information with British authorities.