Wonderful act of kindness sees Irish bus driver receive huge praise

A really lovely thing for him to do!

A Belfast bus driver has been widely commended online after he stopped his bus to perform a magnificent act of kindness for a homeless man.

Yesterday St Mary’s University College student Anna Marie McDaniel witnessed the driver of the 10H Translink bus stop his vehicle to give a homeless man a really thoughtful gift.

Anna Marie, 19, said it was a rainy night in Belfast and the homeless man was soaking wet in a short sleeved t-shirt when her driver (known only as Paul) stopped his bus and called the homeless man inside.

After the homeless man got inside Anna Marie said she heard Paul the driver say he was glad to see the man as he hoped he would be there and then the driver handed him a big plastic bag.

Inside the bag was a warm winter coat that the driver had gone out and bought especially for him. After initially refusing to take the coat the homeless man eventually took it from the adamant bus driver.

Anna Marie said in her post: “I have never seen a smile like the one on the homeless man's face.”

If you can’t see the Facebook post, you can view it here.

Speaking as to why she shared the story online the student told the Belfast Telegraph it was “the sweetest thing” she’d ever seen.

“I wanted to let the driver know that I thought what he did was the sweetest thing I've ever seen anybody do,” said Anna Marie.

“So I spoke to him before I got off the bus. I wanted him to know how much the wonderful thing he had done had meant to me.”

Anna Marie posted her story on the Translink Facebook page and it’s proved hugely popular with the public, gathering over 66,000 likes and tonnes of positive comments in the 20 hours it's been online.

The driver himself wishes to stay anonymous, but when asked about the act a Translink spokesman said: “We commend our colleague on this act of kindness for someone in need.”

Well done to bus driver Paul, what a lovely thing to do!