A man rescued during protests by a Black Lives Matter hero has been identified as a Millwall FC fan from Basingstoke.
Bryn Male, 55, was carried to safety by personal trainer Patrick Hutchinson after being beaten up in violent scenes outside London's Waterloo station on Saturday.
The Sun reports that Bryn hopes to say thank you to Patrick who intervened in a brawl because he feared Bryn's life was "in danger".
%image('11491180', type="article-full", alt="Bryn, pictured here appearing to be doing the crossword in the Gazette, is from Basingstoke ")
His son Harry, 21, told the newspaper his father has a "black eye". The delivery driver lives in Basingstoke with his wife Karen and their son.
He was among several hundred men who travelled to central London with the aim, they said, of protecting statues, including Winston Churchill’s.
Patrick, a personal trainer and grandfather, was hailed as a hero after throwing the delivery driver over his shoulders and protecting him from further harm.
Patrick Hutchinson carries an injured stranger to safety during yesterday's protests.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 14, 2020
It's easy to focus on the worst instincts of human behaviour. But it is vital we also celebrate the best. pic.twitter.com/WPuH27W48J
Patrick formed a group with four of his friends, who are part of London-based close protection group Ark Security, to protect young Black Lives Matter protesters from getting caught up in the violence at the protests.
They took it upon themselves to be the “overseers” at the protest, to make sure those who needed help were taken safely to emergency service workers.
The group spotted a lone white man, now identified as Bryn, being dragged by young black protesters through a crowd and thrown on the steps near the Royal Festival Hall.
“His life was under threat so I just went and scooped him up, put him over my shoulder, and started marching towards the police with him,” Patrick told Channel 4 News.
Twenty-three police officers were injured as several hundred demonstrators, mostly white men, attended the protest organised by far-right groups which claimed they wanted to protect statues from vandalism.
"If the other three police officers who were standing around when George Floyd was murdered had thought about intervening like what we did, George Floyd would be alive today."
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 14, 2020
Patrick Hutchinson, who was pictured carrying a protestor to safety at violent demo says what happened. pic.twitter.com/IdTT8spuG4
The demonstration turned ugly after hundreds of self-proclaimed “statue defenders” took over areas near the Palace of Westminster and Trafalgar Square and hurled missiles, smoke grenades, glass bottles and flares at police officers.
Patrick carried the injured man over his shoulder while the others formed a barrier around them, before handing him to nearby police officers.
The group said Bryn did not utter a word and said they have not spoken to or seen him since.
When asked why they helped the man, Patrick's friend Mr Noah said: “If we didn’t do that I wouldn’t like to think what would have happened to the poor guy.
“We wanted to save his life and save the Black Lives Matter campaign as well.”
He said he wanted to save the lives of young black boys who could have been targeted by “hooligans” if anything had happened to the white man.
“We were ready to help anyone, no matter what their colour, it’s for the right purpose,” Mr Noah said.
It has also been revealed that Mr Male is currently the Vice-chairman at the Chineham Village Club.
His profile on the club's website reads: "A member of the club since 2002, Bryn spends most of his time holding court in the Sports Bar but does sometimes venture into the lounge. Millwall fan."
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