When Jacqueline Mason realised she had boarded the wrong bus to visit her care home resident mother Eileen, the tears quickly overcame her.

“I started crying, and I said I’m not too sure if I’m on the right bus,” she says.

Her reaction was understandable as visits to the Bradley Manor care home in Belfast are strictly regulated due to coronavirus restrictions, and Jacqueline’s 30-minute slot was due to start at 3.30pm sharp.

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It was now 3.10pm, and she was completely lost.

Step forward her hero – the Translink 11B driver, who after noticing her tears, assessed the situation and made a quick decision.

He apologetically informed the rest of the passengers that there was a woman who hadn’t seen her mother for a long time and needed help, and he swung his bus off its route, delivering Jacqueline to the care home on the Crumlin Road in the nick of time.

It was a joyful reunion for Ms Mason and her 79-year-old mother Eileen McGrugan, herself a former care home assistant for many years.

Ms McGrugan had already battled COVID-19 this year, spending two weeks on supplemental oxygen and suffering a heart attack in the process.

Yesterday – the day of Jacqueline’s journey – Eileen received the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, becoming one of the first care home residents in the UK to do so.

That was why Sky News was at Bradley Manor, and a quick Sky News Twitter video of Jacqueline’s heart-warming bus story started to gather attention.

She knew only that the driver’s name was Alex.

People took to social media to show their appreciation of his generosity.

“Absolutely amazing,” tweeted Sharon Lowry.

“Alex…you’re awesome,” said Darren McElvogue.

“Thank you Alex,” tweeted Nichola Mallon, Northern Ireland’s infrastructure minister, who also liked a tweet urging: “Let’s find Alex.”

So, we did.

Alex “Alec” Bailey is a 57-year-old from Dunmurry in south Belfast.

He’s worked for Translink for 35 years, and is one of the most senior drivers in the company.

Alec was sitting at home wondering if the crying woman had made her appointment when his daughter asked him if he’d been driving the 11B that day.

“Why?” he responded. “Because you’re all over social media,” came the answer.

“I could see the tears welling up in Jacqueline’s eyes,” Alec recalls.

“She said, I hadn’t see my mum in a long time. I said to her, don’t be panicking, take a seat and we’ll sort something out.”

The driver said his “heart went out to her”, and without asking her, he decided to divert his bus from its scheduled route.

He waited until he reached the next junction, then stood up and addressed his passengers.

“I just said, look I’m going to have to do a slight detour here, there’s a woman on board who hasn’t seen her mum for a long time.”

The other passengers, he says with typical Belfast understatement, were “grand.”

With time ticking away, it was a detour of just seven or eight minutes, but it made all the difference.

After dropping Jacqueline off, she asked him his name, and he said “cheerio”.

Not being on any social media, Alec didn’t know his impromptu mission had been successful until his daughter showed him the Sky News video.

“My daughter sent me the wee clip and when I saw the happiness and joy, it made my day, I was just so happy,” he says.

“It was just so lovely to see that she got there in time.”

The veteran driver says he was worried about being reprimanded by his bosses, but he needn’t have worried.

“I’m proud of Alec for going above and beyond to help Jacqueline,” says Translink Group chief executive Chris Conway.

“He is a long-serving member of staff who has been working throughout the pandemic, going out of his way to ensure key and essential workers, education and communities stay connected.

“I’m delighted that we were able to help in this case. I would also like to thank our passengers on this bus for their support and goodwill.”

Alec laughs at the attention his gesture has garnered, and admits his co-workers at the depot are “giving me a tonne of stick for being a superhero”,

“I’m not a hero at all,” he says.

“It was just something I had to do. The way this year has been with people not seeing their mothers and fathers, it just really struck a chord with me.

“I just want to wish Jacqueline and her mum a very happy Christmas.”

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