London: The food-delivery firm Deliveroo thanked Benedict Cumberbatch on Saturday after a newspaper reported that the Sherlock star had fought off muggers who were attacking one of its cyclists.

Uber driver Manuel Dias told the Sun newspaper that he was driving Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter along London's Marylebone High Street when they saw a cyclist being hit with a bottle.

He said Cumberbatch jumped out of the car and grabbed one of the attackers.

"I had hold of one lad and Benedict another," Dias was quoted as saying. "He seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He was very brave."

"Here was 'Sherlock Holmes' fighting off four attackers just round the corner from Baker Street," he added.

The fictional detective's home address in London is around the corner from the scene of the attack.