Some mornings we can wake up for work with ease and everything just seems to be going right. Then there are some mornings where we wake up late or accidentally pack the wrong things in a rush and all day just hope that the day is over soon. Some days we have a mixture of both. But depending on what wrong things you packed they can have a chain reaction throughout your whole day.
Source: Photo by Skitterphoto from Pexels
This was the case for a 39-year-old from Guildford, Surrey named Steve Farmer. Who unfortunately not only forgot to pack his security pass for his first day back to work but also only packed his son’s bike lock that he uses for locking up their bikes in the park. Steve made the decision to leave his bike at the Cannon Street Station in Central London and hope for the best when he returned after his workday was complete. Normally, Steve locks his bike up at his work with a more heavy-duty lock called D-lock so leaving his bike outside the station with only his son’s bike lock to protect his bike was taking a chance. Steve told PA News,
“It was so dead in the morning around Cannon Street, and I had my son’s lock, used for locking it up at the park, in my bag, so thought I would use that, get a security pass and come back. By the day just cracked on.”
Source: Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels
While Steve was away at work unfortunately a bike thief made their way to his bike and started clipping the bike lock. However, at that same moment, a rail worker named Abdul El-Gayar was clocking out of his shift around 2 pm at Cannon Street Station when he heard the sound of a lock being clipped. When he turned around and saw someone trying to cut the lock off of a bike with bolt cutters he didn’t think twice about stepping in. He states,
“I heard the sound of a lock being snapped and I didn’t think twice. I said ‘You’re not taking that back’. I couldn’t let that happen.”
Abdul understood the value of a bike to its owner due to the fact that he too cycles to work every day. When he approached the bike thief he stated,
“It’s not your bike. I have a bike and cycle to work – I know what value they have to people.”
Although their voices did raise a little during the confrontation the bike thief eventually gave up when Abdul showed he wasn’t backing down. Once he thief walked off Abdul put the bike into a safe storage place in the station since the lock had been broken. He then proceeded to wait four hours after clocking out for the owner of the bike to hopefully come to claim it. Abdul recalled,
“City people finish work at about 5.30/6pm — it came to 6pm and I was wondering where the owner might be when a young man came through the station.”
Source: Photo by Leon Warnking from Pexels
Around 6 pm, when Steve had just finished a stressful day with only one thing on his mind: getting home. He was gutted when he went to unlock his “trusty stead” to find nothing. Steve recalled to the Evening Standard,
“I was annoyed that I had used a bad lock to lock it up with. I was resigned to the fact I would never see it again, but trudged back up to the station, thinking there was no point really in asking for the security cameras but wanted to try anyway.”
When Abdul heard a man requesting to see the cameras about a missing bike he began waving to Steve and requested that he put the correct code into the lock to confirm he was the owner. As Steve provided the correct code Abdul informed him he had his bike safe and sound with a smile Steve will never forget he recounts in his Facebook post below.
Source: Screenshot of Steve Farmer’s Facebook Post
Steve went from being absolutely devastated to astonished and grateful that his trusty stead was safe and sound. Not many people would wait four hours after they clocked out of their shift to make sure a lost object was safely returned to its owner. Steve notes in his post,
“The world needs more Abdul’s, he is a legend of a man and a credit to his employer.”
Source: Steve Farmer via Facebook
Since sharing this post on his Facebook it has gone viral with over 134K shares, 183k likes, and more than 12,000 comments.
Source: Screenshot of Steve Farmer’s Facebook Post
One woman even shared a similar account that she had left her handbag on an Underground train and instead of taking it someone handed it in at the next station and all she had to do was get off and claim it. Truly a great relief!
Source: Screenshot of Steve Farmer’s Facebook Post
It can be hard to trust our fellow humans especially when events such as stolen bikes, handbags, packages and more can happen. But it’s actions and people such as Abdul that restore our faith in one another.
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