John Bamford, the heroic man who faced down accused ‘Sydney stabber’ Mert Nay with a café chair, has been revealed as the father of former Home and Away actress Anna Bamford.
The US-based actress, who played Jeannie Woods in the hit Aussie drama, confirmed the news on Instagram, writing: ‘Feeling incredibly proud of my dad.’
WATCH: John tells all about that frightening moment
It’s more well-deserved praise for the Sydney lawyer, who was reluctant to take the spotlight after incident, which was filmed by onlookers are shared around the world.
And the exposure has reached his family on the other side of the world, with Anna commenting about her pride on a photo of her chair-wielding father.
John is seen bravely confronting the man with a café chair in viral footage from the event, which saw the accused allegedly rampaging through city streets, at one point leaping on to the roof of an Uber.
Saying he had ‘no choice’ but to confront the knife-wielding man, John told Sunrise of those terrifying moments.
‘I was walking to have my lunch on a little cafe, and as I went past the hotel, somebody emerged from the side of the building,’ he recalled.
‘He popped out into the street, had the knife raised and called out “Allahu Akhbar”, so I thought “oh, this is a terrorist”.’
Police are still investigating the motivation for the crime, but Nay is confirmed to have a troubling mental history, and reportedly recently absconded from mental health care at a Sydney hospital.
John reacted by grabbing a chair, and slowly moved to confront the man to protect bystanders, some of whom were oblivious to what was going on, despite the danger.
‘He said he had a bomb in his bag, but the zip was undone – it didn’t look like he had a bomb to me,’ John recalls.
Modest John says anyone would have done what he did, despite the wave of praise he’s received from a grateful community.
‘I think it’s a bit over-egged to be honest. We live in a very peaceful community by in large, so when you see something like this arrive on your doorstep right out of nowhere, you’ve got no choice.
‘You’ve got to do something about it.’
And for that Anna and plenty more Australians are grateful.
WATCH: The incident that shocked Australia
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