Thousands raised for hero bus driver who chased down and punched thief - as petition launched for him to get his job back

Mark Hehir was sacked after chasing down a thief who took a woman’s necklace on a 206 bus in London. He ran after the man, and after a confrontation, punched him - knocking him out.

He then restrained the man for almost ‘half an hour’ until police arrived.

Mr Hehir has received an outpouring of support from the public after bosses sacked him - despite police finding he had “used force which was proportionate and necessary in the circumstances in the defence of himself and the female passenger."

Mark was released with no charges and no further action, but Metroline sacked him anyway - dismissing him without notice for gross misconduct, saying he had brought the company into disrepute and failed to follow safety procedures by leaving the bus.

He took bus firm Metroline to a tribunal which he lost. It upheld his dismissal and said that the "genuine belief of the disciplinary and appeal managers that the claimant was guilty of gross misconduct was held on reasonable grounds and was within the band of reasonable responses open to an employer in the circumstances".

Now, a GofundMe has been launched saying he lost his livelihood ‘for doing the right thing’.

Organisers of the fundraiser want to raise £20,000 to help Mr Hehir cover living costs and get himself back on his feet.

Shadow Justice Minister Dr Kieran Mullan has also started a petition to get him his job back, with the public describing the bus firm as ‘cowards’ saying: “No back up from big bus company management.“

Dr Mullan has urged the public to support the petition, saying he wants to ‘shame’ bus firm Metroline into ‘doing the right thing.’

He said: “This is not justice. Mark Hehir stepped in to protect a passenger and recover her stolen property and for doing the right thing and putting himself in harm’s way, he lost his job.

"That is plainly wrong. Law abiding people should not be punished for standing up to thugs. This decision sends a deeply troubling message that those who do the right thing will not be supported.

"Most people would see his actions as an instinctive attempt to defend someone who had just been robbed. He should be reinstated immediately or compensated."

“Acting quickly to help people in moments like this is difficult and even trained professionals can make mistakes.

"But people doing the right thing, for the right reasons, when so many look the other way need our support. Not the rule book being thrown at them.”

“People using public transport have seen how often people get away with anti social behaviour and crime and an increasing retreat by bus drivers. I understand why and this sort of thing will make it even harder for them.”

LBC understands however that Mr Hehir has no interest in going back to work for the bus company that sacked him.

Mr Hehir was driving the 206 bus in June 2024 when a man got on, snatched a necklace off a woman’s neck and ran off.

Mr Hehir, who had worked for bus firm Metroline for about two years, chased the man down and took the necklace back. But the man followed him back to the bus and ‘threw the first punch’ at Mr Hehir, a tribunal heard.

Mr Hehir responded in self-defence, hitting the man once and knocking him out.

He then dragged him to the pavement and held him down until police arrived almost half an hour later.

Mr Hehir told LBC yesterday: "They wait for these people just to keep their guard down and they strike.

"And I wasn’t going to allow it."

The former bus driver also volunteered in Ukraine when the war broke out in 2022.

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He continued: "We had a bit of a scuffle. He wasn't getting away, so he handed me back the necklace."

Metroline operations manager Alina Gioroc told the tribunal that she believed the man had “returned towards the bus with the clear intention to apologise and shake hands with the female passenger.”

She said: “When the (man) intended to shake hands with the claimant, the claimant pushed the (man) away rather than stepping away himself, and that the (man) had not been aggressive until this point.”

She said restraining him for half an hour was an “excessive use of force and disproportionate.”

Ms Gioroc concluded that each allegation was found, and decided the claimant should be dismissed without notice for gross misconduct.

A tribunal held in Watford upheld Mr Hehir’s dismissal.

It found “that the genuine belief of the disciplinary and appeal managers that the claimant was guilty of gross misconduct was held on reasonable grounds and was within the band of reasonable responses open to an employer in the circumstances”.

A Metroline spokesperson said: "The tribunal has upheld the dismissal as fair. The claimant breached protocols designed to keep staff and passengers safe, which is our priority."

Mr Hehir now works as a barman in Wembley.