HEROIC: Nigerian Rescues London Worshippers From Machete-Wielding Man…On The Day He Became UK Citizen

Heroic deeds of Nigerians don’t come regularly in the United Kingdom and so Stephen Izegbu’s story has made him an instant celebrity just as Londoners celebrate the Olympics. Hero: Stephen Izegbu, left, took on the armed assailant and later revealed he had just become a British citizen. Arch Deacon Paul Wright, right, gave a press conference after the attempted attack A machete-wielding man smashed his way into a church and savagely attacked a church choir untilIzegbu and his friend came to the rescue of the mostly elderly members of the church. The masked man injured five pensioners during the crazed rampage. It was thought he was “angry at God” because of his wife’s recent death, the Daily Star reported as survivors relived their stories. The singers told how they cowered in terror as the man screamed he was “the Devil”, broke windows and wrecked Vicar Alyson Davie’s car. Jane Livesey, 67, said, “It was terrifying. We stacked tables in front of the side door so that he couldn’t get in. But he burst through waving an iron bar. He was like a man possessed”. “He had this Mohican mask on. It was like something out of a bad dream. Yvonne Berr is 84 and was on crutches because she’s had two hip operations. He punched her in the face and then kicked her while she was on the floor. It was horrific.” Crime scene: Five people were injured after a masked man armed with a machete broke into St Barnabas Church in St Paul's Cray, south east London The attack ended when Izegbu and Richard Elliott jumped in and wrestled the man to the floor. Nigerian-born Stephen Izegbu, 28, said, “He was screaming at me wildly, saying: ‘I’m the Devil. I’m going to kill you.” “He hit me across the head with a bar. I’m not a hero; I was just doing what needed to be done. Who knows what he might have done to that woman?” “This happened on the day I got confirmation of my British citizenship; I suppose this was my first test as a citizen. I think I passed it.” Witnesses to the attack at the St. Barnabas’ Church hall, in St. Paul’s Cray, Orpington, Kent, believe the man’s wife recently died from cancer, making him angry at God and the church.