Lassana Bathily, originally from Mali in west Africa, is said to have shepherded terrified customers to safety in a chiller as the Islamist gunman took hold of the Hyper Cacher supermarket in Porte de Vincennes, Paris, yesterday.

Coulibaly executed four of the 19 hostages before police stormed the building and ended the terror, killing the gunman as he attempted to flee.

Mr Bathily has been praised for his quick-thinking actions since his role in helping customers. He told BFMTV: “When they ran down, I opened the door (from the freezer).

Several people called for Mr Bathily to be recognised for his actions as details of the episode emerged.

One tweet from @worldwithjan read: “A true hero of the hostage crisis in the kosher grocery store yesterday.”

Police are continuing to search for Coulibaly’s partner and conspirator Hayat Boumeddiene.

Source: London Evening Standard