Bus driver who lost job after stopping thief shocks Martin Daubney as he reveals explanation they gave: ‘Disgrace!’

Mark Hehir, originally from Limerick, Ireland, was dismissed by Metroline following an incident in north-west London where he chased down a man who had snatched jewellery from a female passenger.

Discussing his story on the People's Channel, Mr Hehir said: "I was driving a 206 bus between Wembley and Kilburn. I pulled in at Harlesden and a man got on. He didn’t pay his fare, which happens every day.

" Drivers can’t be expected to stop everyone and challenge them, so you just carry on and do your job.

"Two stops later, more people got on the bus. One woman in particular, Caroline, boarded at the front. Suddenly, a man rushed down the bus from the left-hand side, grabbed the necklace from her neck and ran out through the front door.

"She was clearly stunned, and I immediately realised what had happened. It all happened very quickly. I opened the door, which you’re not supposed to do but I closed it behind me.

"Contrary to what Metroline later said at the tribunal, the door was closed and not accessible to the public. I then chased after the man.

"I caught up with him after about 200 metres. There was a brief scuffle, and he realised he wasn’t getting away. I recovered the necklace, walked back to the bus and handed it to Caroline.

"At that point, someone shouted, 'He’s coming back towards you.' I turned around and said, 'It’s over. We’ve got the necklace back. Move on'.

"But he kept advancing towards her. CCTV shows Caroline with her hand raised, telling him to go back. She’s frightened and backing away, yet he continues to come forward.

"Anyone who’s been robbed knows he wasn’t coming back to apologise. There was clearly an ulterior motive. I stood between him and Caroline, put my hand on his chest and leaned back, telling him to go away."

"As Caroline got back on the bus, I turned to return to my cab and saw him swing a punch clearly visible on CCTV. It was timed at 9.2 seconds before the punch could land, and I struck him first. He went down and was knocked unconscious.

"I then dragged him out of the road, probably something I shouldn’t have done, but he was lying in traffic. He was bleeding, so I sat him up, leaned him forward and held his shoulders to make sure the blood drained outward rather than back. Despite what he’d done, I was genuinely concerned for his welfare.

"After three or four minutes, he regained consciousness and began flailing and kicking. I restrained him using a holding position legs locked and arms secured for around 29 minutes. It was 28 degrees that day and extremely hot.

"Nurses from a nearby hospital came over and poured water into my mouth while I held him down because of the heat. He was sweating heavily. Eventually, an ambulance arrived. He had hit his head when he fell, and paramedics raised concerns about a possible brain bleed."

Martin respondedL "That’s when things kind of went a bit crazy. You dealt with the situation in front of you in a way most people would consider heroic. You stepped in, prevented a woman from being hurt, recovered her property, and dealt with a thief. At that point, you should have been getting a medal. But that didn’t happen. Instead, things took a nasty turn. What happened next?

Mr Hehir said: "Yeah, things got quite nasty. I got arrested, both of us got arrested. Now, I don't blame the police for that because there is an injury to the guy's head.

"So I think it's protocol for the police to arrest both parties, bring them back to the station. They do all the fingerprinting, the facials, the photographs. Everything is done. Your clothes are taken off your evidence, so you're stripped down to your shorts.

"Basically, you're put in a cell. Now, I've never been in a cell in my life, so this is all new to me, but it was it was just a natural occurrence for me to say, 'right, this is normal. Just go along with it'. I must admit that the actual cop who did the arrest that day PC Craig Foster.

"I can't say enough about this guy. The officer actually followed up and kept in touch, making numerous phone calls between me and Caroline over the next 18 months, just to make sure we were okay."

"Fast forward to my employers, they didn’t take my side. Despite everything I’d done, I ended up losing my job. "

Martin asked: "And what explanation did they give?"

Mr Hehir responded: "I brought the bus company into disrepute, and their name would have been seen if anyone was walking by and they had to record, the name of the bus, would have been there and would have been a bad name for that sort of thing."

Martin later added: "You’re an absolute legend. People just love people like you. You stepped in, took decisive action, and protected the public.

"To lose your job over that is a disgrace. You should be getting a bravery award, and I’m sincerely hoping that still happens."