A masked vigilante who calls himself 'Guardian' has reportedly swooped into action again in Bexleyheath to save a man from "the worst night of his life".

Simon Tanaka, 35, told News Shopper he was walking home from the Furze Wren pub on Sunday evening when he was confronted by three men who looked like they were dressed for a night out.

One of the men, who looked like he was in his 20s, was allegedly holding a metal bar.

According to Mr Tanaka, who is half-Japanese, the men began to shout at him to "go back to China."

As he began to run away from the men, they chased him and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him to the ground.

"All the men stood over me laughing and one stood on my hand pushing hard, almost breaking my hand," he told News Shopper.

He added the men were allegedly telling him to "go home" as they stood over him.

"I shouted for help, pretty much screaming and no one came," he said, adding it felt like the ordeal lasted "a lifetime".

Just as he was beginning to lose hope, Mr Tanaka claims he heard a voice say: "Excuse me fellas, but would you mind letting him up?"

At this, the attackers lunged for the man who had come to Mr Tanaka's aid, which gave him time to stand up.

"Then something amazing happened," he said.

Mr Tanaka described how the mysterious masked hero "was throwing martial arts kicks and punches and took on all three men," making them "run away with their tails firmly between their legs."

Once he was able to see the man properly, Mr Tanaka described his knight in shining armour as "dressed all in black."

He also had "a cowboy style mask over his lower face and a hoodie up on his head."

Upon seeing this grand figure, Mr Tanaka admits he "made a sort of shriek noise and out of nerves I went quiet."

But the vigilante assured him he was safe and said: "Hey dude, it's ok, I'm not gonna hurt you. My name is Guardian."

He added he had just been out for a run at the time and happened to stumble across the incident.

When Mr Tanaka got home, he described himself as "in shock."

"Bexleyheath at night isn't safe these days," he said.