‘I don’t want to be known as a hero’: barber who rushed to help Helen Haines praised by PM

Ricky Jefferies says he had just finished cutting hair when he grabbed and held the driver who allegedly deliberately struck the Indi MP

• Follow our Helen Haines live blog for latest updates

• Who is Helen Haines, the MP allegedly attacked in Victoria?

• Get our new political email, free app or daily news podcast

The Australian prime minister has hailed him a hero for rushing out of his shop to help independent MP Helen Haines after she was allegedly run down in a deliberate attack - but barber Ricky Jefferies says he had no choice" but to intervene.

Standing on Tuesday morning outside his shop, which is right next to Haines' electorate office in Wangaratta, Jefferies was almost shy about the whole thing.