London mayor Boris Johnson has been dubbed a 'knight on a shining bicycle' after coming to the aid of a woman being attacked by a gang of girls.
The politician saved filmmaker Franny Armstrong after she was surrounded by a group of hoodie-clad teen girls, one of whom was wielding an iron bar.
Armstrong, the director of climate change doco 'The Age Of Stupid', called out for help to a passing cyclist - who turned out to be Johnson.
He stopped and chased the girls down the street, Armstrong told the UK's Guardian newspaper.
"I was texting on my phone so didn't notice the girls until they pushed me against the car," she said.
"Then along came a cyclist. And I thought, 'Good, he's a big bloke,' and shouted, 'Can you help me please?'
"I said, 'That's the mayor of London!' and they ran off," Armstrong added to the Guardian. "They must have thought they were going to get in trouble.
"He said to the girls, 'What do you think you are doing?' He picked up the iron bar, called after the girls and cycled after them. He returned a few minutes later and walked me home."
Johnson, who took over from Ken Livingstone as the city's leader in May last year, has made tackling youth crime a key priority.
Armstrong, who is the founder of the 10:10 campaign which aims to cut 10% of carbon emissions in 2010, added to the paper that although she didn't agree with Johnson's politics, he was certainly useful "if you find yourself down a dark alleyway".
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