Actor Benedict Cumberbatch (photos), who plays detective Sherlock Holmes
in the television series Sherlock,
foiled an attempted robbery by fighting off a gang of muggers in London. The attack
occurred near his fictional character's home on Baker Street.
Cumberbatch and his wife, Sophie Hunter, were riding in an Uber
when the 41-year-old actor spotted the attempted mugging on Marylebone High
Street and jumped out of the vehicle. Four muggers were attacking a cyclist and
attempting to steal his bicycle. According to witnesses, Cumberbatch screamed
at the attackers and then dragged them off of the victim.
Uber driver Manuel Dias, 53, told the Sun, "I was taking
Benedict and his wife to a club — but I didn't know it was him at first."
"I went to turn down into Marylebone
High Street and we saw four guys were pushing around a Deliveroo cyclist. My
passenger jumped out, ran over and pulled the men away. They turned towards him
and things looked like they were getting worse, so I joined in. He stood there
instructing them in the street, shouting, 'Leave him alone.' "
"Then it all got a bit
surreal. Here was Sherlock Holmes fighting off four attackers just round the
corner from Baker Street," Dias continued. "I had hold of one guy and
Benedict another. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He was very
brave. He did most of it, to be honest. They tried to hit him, but he defended
himself and pushed them away. He wasn't injured. Then I think they also
recognized it was Benedict and ran away."
After the attackers left, Dias
said Cumberbatch asked how the cyclist was. When he said, " 'I'm OK,'
Benedict just hugged him."
The Metropolitan Police released a
statement about an incident: "Nothing was reported stolen. The victim did
not require hospital treatment. No arrests have been made."
Cumberbatch has played the lead role in the Sherlock television series
since 2010 and has starred in the films The
Hobbit; Avengers: Infinity War and The Imitation Game.
"The cyclist was lucky;
Benedict's a superhero," Dias said. "Benedict was courageous, brave
and selfless. If he hadn't stepped in, the cyclist could have been seriously
injured."
Mr. Dias said the cyclist was working for the food delivery company Deliveroo, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the company tweeted “Thank you Benedict Cumberbatch for your brave actions. Deliveroo riders are heroes — their safety is our priority and any violence against them is totally unacceptable.”
