Faster than a speeding bullet? More powerful than a locomotive? Certainly able to retrieve a stolen bicycle in - more or less - a single bound.
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A Wollongong barkeeper who chased down a bike thief and won has been dubbed ‘‘Humber Man’’ after he posted video of the feat to social media.
The footage, recorded shortly before 6pm Sunday, shows a hooded man attempting to wheel a bicycle up Crown Lane before Humber bar owner Adam Murphy emerges from the entrance to the rooftop watering hole and gives chase.
Mr Murphy is shown pushing the man in the back, causing him to drop the bike.
A brief stand-off ensues before the would-be thief leaves empty handed, albeit with another man on a bike that has since been reported stolen from the same rack.
Left alone in the laneway, Mr Murphy’s winter overcoat appears to billow a little in the night breeze - cape-style - before he glances into the security camera and walks back inside Humber, possibly to fight more crime.
He later posted the video online, explaining he had ‘‘chased and attacked a Junkie’’ in order to retrieve the bike of a Humber employee.
Friends hailed Mr Murphy a ‘‘vigilante’’ and ‘‘a good samaritan’’ and said they had never seen him move so fast - ‘‘like Batman with a cape’’.
Mr Murphy’s mother, Illawarra Business Chamber chief executive Debra Murphy, wrote she was ‘‘grateful my son is still in one piece’’.
Mr Murphy told the Mercury he was using his phone when he noticed the man trying to break a chain off the bike rack outside the GPT shopping complex.
‘‘I knew it was the staff member’s bike, I knew it wasn’t his, and I wasn’t prepared to stand by and watch him steal something somebody else had worked hard to pay for,’’ he said.
‘‘Hopefully we can catch and prosecute the people that did it so that it doesn’t happen again.’’
Wollongong Detective Inspector Ben Hopper confirmed Wollongong Police were investigating the circumstances behind an attempted bike theft from the location, using CCTV footage recorded on Sunday.
"We are seeking further information from members of the public in identifying the offender," he said.
Police are also investigating the theft of a mountain bike believed to feature in the same video.
Anyone with information about either theft is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers (1800 333 000) or Wollongong Police (4226 7899).
