Commuters were left stunned when the comedian stepped into settle a fight between a cyclist and a van driver.

Russell got out of his Mercedes on Tottenham Court Road to confront the pair in rush hour last week, bringing traffic to a stand still.

Witnesses were quick to tweet pictures of the incident, showing the 35-year-old cuddling the cyclist who had been engaged in a heated argument just moments before.

Joe Stas, who was on the scene, said: 'I was working and could hear an argument taking place outside'

'By the time I got outside the argument between a cyclist and a van driver was getting heated, the traffic had stopped, then Russell gets out of his car and approached the guy on the bike and gives him a hug. The cyclist then smiled and laughed and cycled off.'

Brand later retweeted the image, captioning it: #loveisallyouneed.

Some Twitter users then went onto liken the comedian to the late John Lennon for his peace-loving ways, whilst others just said 'you're funny as h*ll.'

There we have it, ladies and gents, Russell Brand solving the nation's problems - one argument at a time.