London mayor turns 'knight on shining bicycle'

London: He promised to lead the fightback against crime to make the streets of London safer.

And it seems Boris Johnson is determined to lead by example.

The mayor of London has saved a woman who was being attacked by a group of hoodies.

One of the gang was brandishing an iron bar, but that did not stop Johnson going to the aid of Franny Armstrong when he heard her cry for help.

Documentary film-maker Armstrong was walking home in Camden on Monday night when she was surrounded by a group of young girls.

She was sending a text message and did not notice the girls until they pushed her "quite hard" against a car. She said she feared they were about to mug her.

"I noticed that one had an iron bar in her hand — it was frightening," she added.

She called out for help to a passing cyclist, who turned out to be Johnson. He approached the girls, shouting: "What do you think you are doing?".

The girls dropped the iron bar and ran off. Johnson picked up the iron bar and chased after them on his bike.

He returned to the woman a few minutes later and insisted on walking her home.

"He was my knight on a shining bicycle," she said.

Armstrong, a climate change activist, admitted she had voted for Ken Livingstone in the mayoral elections.

But she said: "If you find yourself down a dark alleyway and in trouble I think Boris would be of more use than Ken".