Standing Up for Mark Hehir

What happened

On 25 June 2024, Mark was driving the 206 bus in North London when a man boarded, snatched a necklace from a female passenger's neck, and ran. Mark didn't hesitate. He locked the cab, stopped the bus, chased the thief on foot, and recovered the necklace during the struggle. He returned it to the passenger.

The thief then came back to the bus. Mark stood between him and the distressed passenger. According to the police review, the thief threw the first punch, which missed, and Mark responded with a single punch in self-defence, knocking the man down. He then restrained him for around 30 minutes until police arrived.

The Metropolitan Police reviewed the incident and confirmed that the force Mark used was “proportionate and necessary.” No charges were brought against him.

The dismissal

Metroline, Mark's employer, saw it differently. He was suspended the following day. The company brought gross misconduct charges against him for leaving the bus and using physical force.

During the disciplinary process, Metroline's operations manager Alina Gioroc concluded that the thief had “returned to the bus with the clear intention to apologise.” This interpretation was disputed by Mark and contradicts the police's account of the incident. Mark was dismissed without notice.

A Metroline spokesperson later stated: “The claimant breached protocols designed to keep staff and passengers safe, which is our priority.”

The tribunal

Mark took his case to the Watford employment tribunal. Despite the police confirming his use of force was proportionate, the tribunal upheld Metroline's decision to dismiss him , finding the company had acted within the “band of reasonable responses” available to an employer.

The contrast speaks for itself: the police said his actions were proportionate and necessary; his employer called it gross misconduct.

Why I started the GoFundMe

I live and work in London. I'm on the buses and the Tube every week. You trust the driver to get you where you're going, and you don't really think about much else. But Mark's story made me think about what happens when something goes wrong on a bus and the driver actually steps up.

I read about what happened to him and it didn't sit right with me. Here's someone who did what most of us would only hope we'd have the courage to do. He protected a vulnerable passenger and caught a thief. And he lost his livelihood for it.

He's a hero. Mark isn't someone who was looking for attention. He's a working man who acted on instinct to help someone in trouble. He's also someone who volunteered in Ukraine, which tells you everything about his character.

I set up the GoFundMe campaign to give people a way to show Mark that what he did mattered, and to help him while he fights for his job back.

Press coverage

Mark's story has been covered widely. The PA News Agency wire ran across dozens of UK outlets. Here are some of the highlights:

• The Independent – “Bus driver sacked after he chased down and knocked out robber”
• LBC – “Thousands raised for hero bus driver who chased down and punched thief”
• LBC – “'I wasn't going to allow it': hero bus driver speaks out”
• GB News – “London bus driver sacked after he chased down thief who stole passenger's necklace”
• LBC – “Hero bus driver sacked for chasing down thief who stole passenger's necklace”
• London Now – PA wire coverage quoting the GoFundMe campaign

The PA wire story also ran in the Kent Online, Gazette, Brentwood Live, and dozens more regional outlets across the UK.

What's next

Mark's story isn't over. The support he's received has been incredible: from strangers, journalists, and people who simply believe that doing the right thing shouldn't cost you your career.

If you want to help, there are two things that make a real difference: donate to the GoFundMe and share this page with someone who'd care. Every share helps.