Bromley Batman: Masked hero was 'like battering ram' as he fended off 'racist' attackers, victim reveals

Attack: Mr Ford was set upon near Rochester station
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Ramzy Alwakeel20 September 2015
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The masked crime-fighter known as the Bromley Batman sprang into action “like a battering ram” to save a man from a suspected racist attack in Rochester, the Standard can reveal.

Victim Damien Ford, 26, today told how two “big meatheads with shaved heads” laid into him as he walked to the station at 11pm last Friday.

“They pushed me about, swearing but not asking for my money, which I why I thought they were probably racist,” said Mr Ford, who is black.

“I think they just wanted to have a bit of fun because I was tipsy and an easy target.”

As he was being punched in the stomach, he added, he saw the now-famed south London vigilante dart across the street to his aid.

“The ‘Batman’ ran over from the other side of the road near the train station,” he said. “He ran into one like a battering ram, sending him down to the floor with the momentum.

“All I remember is him taking one down and then getting the other in a wrist lock and pushing them both together and pinning them down. He was a big guy so he used his size to his advantage.”

Mr Ford initially contacted the Standard hoping to relay a message of thanks to the crime-fighter.

“It meant I could get home to see my family, which I thank him and God for,” Mr Ford explained.

The “Bromley Batman”, who earnt the title after stepping in to save a succession of people in and around the south-east London town centre, has so far declined to meet any of the people he has saved.

But today he called for people to express their gratitude by donating to Victim Support, a charity that helps people cope after crime.

“They run on donations,” he told the Standard, “and this really is a necessary and wonderful service.

“I would like to bring this more to the mainstream attention of the public.”

Addressing the latest incident, he said: “All I know is [the victim] was being pushed around by two very drunk men. I was having a very quiet nighttime patrol until this happened.

“I heard them shouting so I ran over and stopped the men attacking him.”

He told Mr Ford to get to safety.

“He was so pissed he could barely run,” he added, “which meant I had to hold the men off until he got far enough away.”

Mr Ford admitted he had been too drunk to defend himself. “Normally I would have got stuck in and had a go,” he said, “but [that night] I couldn't fight my way out of a paper bag.”

The vigilante said earlier this year he preferred the name “The Shadow” but conceded that the original moniker had stuck.

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