A LIMERICK-BORN bus driver in London who was sacked after he chased down a thief to return a passenger’s stolen necklace has said he did not tell his family back in Ireland about the case.

Mark Hehir, 62, who is originally from Limerick but now lives in north-west London, was fired by Metroline after the incident.

More than 125,000 people have signed a petition in support of Hehir, which was launched after an employment tribunal upheld Metroline’s decision to sack the bus driver, a ruling first reported by the Press Association.

In another sign of public support for him, a GoFundMe page for Hehir has raised more than £35,000 and Justice Secretary David Lammy said that Hehir is “a hero and deserves our support”.

In an interview with PA this week, Hehir said that he would like an apology from Metroline as well as compensation for lost earnings, but did not want his job back.

On Wednesday, Hehir told RTE Radio 1 that it had been a long process for him, and he had been “dumbfounded” by the tribunal’s verdict.

He said he is still processing the fallout and said that while he is an optimistic person, “it does set you back because that’s taken two years out of your life”.

He said he did not tell his family back in Ireland because he did not want them worrying about him, particularly his mother.

“I had to ring my sister last week and told her about it, they were kind of dumbfounded,” he said.

“She text me back and said listen this thing is after breaking worldwide, I think mam needs to know or someone is going to tell her.”

“As expected, my mum said she was absolutely, very, very proud of me but at the same time she thought that I should have rang her because she’s my mother, that’s why she’s there.”

“But I didn’t want to bring it on her, because I know she would worry, if that makes sense,” he added.