Irish bus driver in London sacked for chasing down thief called a ‘hero’

Mark Hehir was working when he chased down a thief who had robbed a passenger on his bus.

Limerick man Mark Hehir was working as a bus driver in London when he chased down a thief who had robbed a female passenger on his bus in 2024.

Katalin Kaszas, 46, had her necklace stolen on the bus, after which the 62-year-old driver left the vehicle to chase down the thief, restraining him until police arrived on the scene.

Mr Hehir knocked the thief unconscious when apprehending him and both him and the thief were arrested when police came.

Following the altercation, Mark Hehir was fired by Metroline.

RTÉ have reported that Ms Kaszas felt 'so guilty' when she learned that Mr Hehir had lost his job as a result of his act.

"I think it was unjust. I don’t think (Mr Hehir) deserved that.

"If he doesn’t do what he did, anything could have happened to me.

"I felt so guilty. I felt that it was my fault - I caused all this," she said regarding Mr Hehir's firing.

Since then, a petition and a GoFundMe have been set up for the Irish man and earlier this week he was invited to UK Parliament by Conservative Party leaders.

Shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan commented: "I think Metroline need to come out and apologise, Mark deserves an apology, it’s quite clear they’ve gotten this wrong."

Furthermore, last week an employment tribunal found the dismissal as fair, but added that Mr Hehir had used force which was 'proportionate and necessary' in the circumstances.