Bedford hero praised after stepping in to help police officer as he was attacked in Germany

Bedford man Paul Taylor has been officially recognised by the German police after stepping in to assist an officer who was being attacked at Cologne Central Station.

Paul, who works onboard as a Revenue Protection and Fraud Officer at London North Eastern Railway (LNER), was enjoying a break in Cologne in October as part of a motorcycle trip through Germany when he saw the attack.

He and his friend were passing through the station when suddenly and without provocation, a man attacked a lone police officer, knocking him to the ground.

Paul leapt into action and attempted to restrain the attacker, leading to a struggle where the assailant attempted to get hold of the officer’s automatic pistol.

Thankfully, together with the help from an off-duty officer who was passing by, Paul managed to subdue the situation until police backup arrived.

But little did Paul know once he had returned home, that the Head of the Federal Police in Cologne, Udo Peltzer, had written to LNER wanting to give him a formal letter of gratitude and special coin.

Paul said: “I’m really honoured to receive this wonderful recognition.I’m so thankful that we were able to intervene as quickly as we did, as it was clear that the assailant was after the gun and had he managed to get it then goodness knows what could’ve happened.”

The letter from Mr Peltzer stated: “Mr Taylor realised the dangerous situation and... showed brave and exemplary behaviour which turned out to be decisive to protect the federal police

officer.

“For this commitment and support, I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the Federal Police District Office of Cologne and of the officer who was injured.”

Accompanying the letter was a specially designed challenge coin, which is usually given to officers who have gone above and beyond in the line of duty.

David Horne, managing director of LNER, said: “We’re all incredibly proud of Paul for averting what was set to be a much more serious incident. Intervening as he did required a huge amount of bravery so we were delighted to help recognise his actions.”