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The mysterious masked hero known previously as the 'Bromley Batman' has come forward, days after the Standard told of a vigilante crime fighter taking the law into his own hands in the London borough.

The man, who said he would prefer to be called The Shadow after the popular comic, stepped in to save a City worker from a violent mugging.

After the Standard told this story, a number of individuals came forward to say they, too, had been helped out of sticky situations by a bearded crusader with a bandana covering his face.

Now, the man has spoken out - on condition of anonymity - and his stories match up closely with unwritten details heard by our publication.

The Shadow called himself "younger than 50 and older than 25", saying he patrolled the capital's streets most nights - even though he holds down a day job.

Asked to prove his identity, the vigilante was able to confirm details of his interactions with the City worker and bag snatch victim whose accounts first brought his work to light - including information the Standard chose not to reveal at the time.

Despite his willingness to talk - something he described as "damage control" after three years of working undetected - he remained highly secretive about his identity for fear of putting his family in danger.

He insisted he had not set out to be venerated as a superhero when he began his one-man war on crime three years ago, adding he hated the name "Bromley Batman" - preferring The Shadow, whose comics he enjoyed as a boy.

"I just want to make a difference and leave this world a tiny bit better for the younger generation to inherit," he wrote from an anonymous e-mail account.

"I got sick of seeing crime on the news and in the papers with rarely anyone willing to step in and help people in need."

Revealing he had trained in self-defence "since a very young age" and that he had "picked things up from previous employment", he said: "I just remember one day thinking: 'I have the skills to help, so what am I doing with my life?'

"I sat and watched crime being reported and [news about] scandals in parliament, and thought: 'This world is f***ed up and needs some help'."

Asked about the facial hair mentioned to the Standard by a number of witnesses, he confirmed: "I do have a big, beautiful beard."

He would not be drawn on how often he is forced to intervene in situations such as those reported last week.

"I don't go looking for trouble," he said. "I hope every time I go out that I don't come across it.

"[But] I do go to areas that generally are known to need help."

So far most sightings - including two of the three reported by the Standard - have been in and around Bromley, south-east London. One woman said he had saved her from a gang of would-be bag snatchers in Lewisham.

But today he revealed: "I patrol lots of areas around London, and in some areas the police are much better than others."

While most police officers do a "great job", he opined that some "aren't fit enough to cope with crime in the 21st century".

He described the name "Bromley Batman" as "God awful" but admitted choosing a moniker had "never even crossed my mind, to be honest.

"As a young boy I always enjoyed The Shadow, so if any name then that one kind of makes some sense."

Asked if he had a message to Londoners - some of whom may have already received his help - he said: "I am doing this for future generations to feel safer. I have seen the world get increasingly dangerous and unstable.

"We all need to stand up and be counted, not stand by when people need us. Let us please try to leave a better world for our children and learn from our previous mistakes instead of making the same ones over and over again.

"I'm glad the people I have helped are OK, but there isn't any thanks needed. Just raise a glass or something and then forget about it and get on with your lives - I wish you all well."