Anthony Farrington, 35, of Bayonne, might not want to be called a hero, but the label is suddenly inescapable as it should be for a man who foiled a bank robbery Wednesday.

“Anthony Farrington single-handedly thwarted a bank robbery, and for that I am extremely grateful,” Police Chief Anthony Scianni said Wednesday night.

According to statements given to police, a man later identified as Brian Campbell, 30, of Broadway in Bayonne, entered the Chase bank at 19th Street and Broadway around 3:45 p.m. wearing a baseball hat and a bandanna covering his face.

Campbell passed a note to the teller demanding money, Police Capt. Walter Rogers said.

Farrington was in the bank and at first thought Campbell was wearing the bandanna because he was sick, Rogers said.

But then Farrington heard the demand for money and noticed Campbell put one hand behind his back as if he had a weapon, Rogers said.

At that point, Farrington picked up a glass candy bowl and whacked Campbell over the head, Rogers said.

Campbell’s head hit the counter and Farrington grabbed some wire from a telephone and tied Campbell’s hands, Rogers said.

Police and friends have dubbed Farrington “The Candy Man.”

“I was thinking that I had to do something before someone got hurt, that was pretty much it,” Farrington said yesterday. “I didn’t do it to get any glory out of it.”

A Bayonne native who had gone to the bank branch to straighten out his account, Farrington’s hand yesterday showed a cut he sustained in subduing the robbery suspect.

“I did it because it was the right thing to do,” Farrington said. “I mean sure, the money is federally insured, but what if somebody got hurt? What if he just shot everybody on the way out?”

Farrington, who acknowledged past brushes on the other side of the law, said that friends, family, and neighbors have been praising him for his act of heroism.

“People at the bank said ‘Good job’ and shook my hand, which felt great,” said Farrington. “When I got home and told my fiance, she told me I was crazy, but my stepdaughter thought it was the coolest thing in the world.”

Farrington’s brother, Fausto, said the family couldn’t be prouder.

“I’m proud of him; we all are,” said Fausto. “He did something above what the average citizen would do. We were raised to be the type of people who would rather get shot trying to do something than get shot hiding on the floor.”

Campbell was charged with first-degree robbery and is being held at the county jail in Kearny on $200,000 bail.