Bus driver praised for travelling miles out of his way to help stranded Telford schoolboy, 11
A Shropshire bus driver has been praised for travelling miles out of his way to help a stranded schoolboy.
Codey, aged 11, from Dawley, got on the wrong bus from Telford's bus station on Tuesday, November 7.
The youngster didn't realise his mistake until he was nearly in Bridgnorth - at the wrong end of the journey.
His mum, Jodie Matthews, said the family have not long moved to the area, and are still finding their feet with public transport.
"[Codey] was supposed to get the 4.10pm bus home from school," Jodie explained.
"It's the first one that'll bring him home.
"When he messaged me saying he managed to get on an earlier one I immediately knew he'd got on the wrong bus."
Jodie frantically tried to ring her son, but by that point, his phone had run out of battery.
Fortunately, a friendly bus driver was on hand to help out.
Domingos Correia, who has worked for Arriva for six years, noticed the anxious Codey.
Domingos, who is originally from Portugal, said he was not scheduled to do a return trip to Telford, but took the schoolboy back so he could be picked up.
Jodie said: "I was 10 minutes from calling the police when he eventually managed to phone me to tell me what happened and I could get a taxi to him so he could get brought home.
"It was so worrying, as a parent to not have your child home and to have no idea where they are.
"He walked in the door and immediately burst into tears, he was just so grateful to the driver for bringing him back."
Jodie took to Facebook to try to find the driver who helped her son.
"I really thought he deserved a thank you and recognition," she said.
"So many people in this world would have just carried on with their day. But he went above and beyond to make sure Codey got back. We need more people like that."
Domingos said: “Lots of youngsters make the mistake and get on the wrong bus without looking – I’m sure I did that myself as a kid – but there’s no way I’d leave a youngster by themselves when they’re lost.
“I was only doing my job, but it’s nice that the lady wants to thank me – that’s very kind.”
Andy Damon, Telford operations manager, said: “It’s lovely to hear stories like this about Arriva people and we’re really proud of what Domingos did that day.
“He’s a great asset to Arriva, because he lives our values about doing the right thing, caring passionately about what we do and making a difference.”
