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At your service: Belfast bus driver takes detour to help Jacqueline visit mum

Eileen and daughter Jacqueline Expand

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Eileen and daughter Jacqueline

Eileen and daughter Jacqueline

Eileen and daughter Jacqueline

David Young

Big-hearted bus driver Alec Bailey has been hailed a hero after he helped a tearful daughter visit her 79-year-old mum.

Jacqueline Mason was on her way to see her elderly mum Eileen in the north Belfast care home she lives in - but inadvertently got on the wrong bus.

When Jacqueline realised her mistake, "I started crying," she told Sky News reporter Stephen Murphy.

But Alec, who was driving the Translink 11B service, stepped up to help.

He asked the other passengers on the bus whether they minded if he took a short detour so that Jacqueline would not miss her time slot to meet her mum. "Thank you very much Alec, you've made my day," she said

Modest Alex said: "I'm not a hero, my heart just went out to the lady.

Help: Alec Bailey Expand

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Help: Alec Bailey

Help: Alec Bailey

Help: Alec Bailey

"I'm so happy to see she got there, and see her joy.

"I was just hoping my employers wouldn't reprimand me."

But it was soon clear that a reprimand for going off-piste was not on the cards for Alec. Translink boss Chris Conway tweeted: "It was just the right thing to do.

"We are all so proud of him. What an ambassador for Translink NI, and the resilience of all front-line workers during Covid-19."

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon echoed the praise: "Thank you Alex," she tweeted.

Belfast Telegraph

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