Rail worker hailed a 'legend' for stopping bike theft and waiting 4 hours to return it to owner

Big towns offer great career opportunities and a better standard of living. However, they also tend to have a higher rate of crime. Fortunately, community support and help from good Samaritans can provide a layer of safety. This is exactly what a heroic rail worker aimed to do when he stopped a bike thief. Steve Farmer was riding his bike to work in July 2020 when he realized he'd forgotten the security pass that allows him to lock his bike up at work. Since it was his first day back at the office after the COVID-19 lockdown, the 41-year-old City worker didn't have much time to spare. He decided to secure the bike outside the train station using his son's bike lock which he had in his bag and went off to work thinking his ride would be safe there since the street was empty. However, when he returned at around 6 PM, the lock was severed and his bike was gone. Speaking to Evening Standard about the incident, Farmer said he was "gutted" and "annoyed" that he'd used a bad lock to secure his bike. 

"I was resigned to the fact I would never see it again, but trudged back up to the station, thinking there was no point really in asking for the security cameras but wanted to try anyway," he shared. However, a 33-year-old who works on the platform at Cannon Street station was waiting for him with his bike inside. Abdul El-Gayar was clocking off work at around 2 p.m. that day when he noticed someone using bolt cutters to break the lock of a bike chained up outside the station. "I heard the sound of a lock being snapped and I didn't think twice. I said: 'You're not taking that back.' I couldn't let that happen," he recounted. He confronted the bike thief and although "voices were raised a little," the burglar eventually gave up and walked off.

El-Gayar explained that he is a cyclist himself and wanted to assist another two-wheel enthusiast. "I have a bike and cycle to work - I know what value they have to people," he said. "I put the bike into safe storage because the lock had been broken." However, he did not stop there. Although his shift got over at 2 p.m., the rail worker decided to wait until after 6 p.m. to make sure the bike reached the right hands. "City people finish work at about 5.30/6 pm - it came to 6 pm and I was wondering where the owner might be when a young man came through the station," he said.

El-Gayar requested Farmer to enter the lock code to verify himself as the owner. The bike was returned to him once he typed in the right code and the two were free to go about with the rest of their day. The rail worker said, "He said he couldn’t thank me enough. I was only too happy to help—I couldn't let a bike theft happen right in front of my eyes."

Farmer expressed his gratitude by saying, "I can't thank Abdul enough, he is such a top man. The world needs more Abduls, he is a legend of a man and a credit to his employer."