A 17-stone bodybuilder who describes himself as a “big softy” says he had to act after he watched a woman being dragged along a street by a man.

Neal Maher, 32, of Watford, was in Queens Road in Watford town centre on October 11 at 8am when he heard screaming and calling for help.

He looked ahead and could see a woman in her 30s being dragged along the street by a man as people looked on.

Mr Maher, who is a bodybuilder and works at nearby NRG gym, said he could not just stand by and approached the couple.

But as he went towards them, Mr Maher said he saw the man pull a knife from his pocket and shouted: “Calm down, let her go.”

Recalling the moment, he said: “She just grabbed my arm but he pushed her out of the way and then the knife dropped on the floor.

“I’m a big softy really but I can make myself look scary if I need to so I stared at him and he slowly walked off but for some reason the woman followed him. She asked me to go with her and I told her to stay where she was but she was adamant that she was going after him.”

Watford Observer:

Mr Maher says bystanders looked shaken and one woman started crying. He picked up the knife that was lying on the ground before handing it in at a nearby Costcutter convenience store.

He added: “I went back outside but the pair had disappeared. Police arrived really quickly to be fair. The whole incident was over in ten seconds but it meant he let her go.”

Police have appealed for witnesses to the incident and for anyone who saw what happened to come forward.

• A 47-year-old man from Watford was arrested but has been bailed.