A man hailed as a "hero" for helping a mum who was punched unconscious in Lewisham Hospital has played down his intervention.

The 30-year-old wished to stay anonymous but said he was grateful Emily Rogers, 34, reached out to say thank you.

Emily was with her three young children in the waiting area of A&E on Friday when a woman started punching her from behind.

FULL STORY HERE: 'My son thought I died': Mum battered unconscious in front of petrified kids in Lewisham Hospital

News Shopper:

Her husband was there getting tests but had left his family for five minutes for a vape when the chaos started.

Emily contacted News Shopper to thank the "heroic" stranger who prevented the woman landing more damaging blows.

She said: "I really want to say thank you to him. God knows what could have happened.

"It was a brave thing to get involved in."

The story reached the man who said he was relieved Emily was now on the mend.

"I’m just not one of those who likes the public attention," he explained when asked why he didn’t want to be named.

He told News Shopper: "It unfolded exactly like it was written in News Shopper. I heard children screaming and I looked up and noticed this woman just throwing punches at her.

"I’m not really sure what happened, I just sort of leapt up and that was that."

The man, from Greenwich, was with his pregnant friend when the attack happened.

He described pulling the woman off and shouting at her to calm down before she left.

"It was nice to know she [Emily] appreciated what I had done.

"When something like that happens, all you can think about afterwards is how they are getting on. It was horrible to hear about her son."

Emily’s son, six, was thrown off his mum’s lap during the vicious assault and has been offered counselling after the traumatic experience.

His mum said: "He was on my lap before being pushed off and said my head went floppy like a doll and he thought I had died."

The man who helped said he had "no idea" what he was thinking at the time and said he relied on adrenaline.

Police are treating the incident as GBH and are reviewing hospital CCTV footage of the attack.