Excuse me, you forgot your… bollard: The weirdest things left on public transport
Entering the largest lost property warehouse in Europe feels a bit like heading into a theme park maze – except instead of hedges, there are rows of metal shelves about 10ft high and full of, well, everything.
It’s vast, very grey, rather cold and, in truth, a little bit dull on the surface. Perhaps its operators had this in mind when they decided to fill the first section as you walk in with stuffed toys.
It sort of does the trick at brightening up the place, until you think about the children who are missing them.
With around 200,000 items turning up every year – roughly 6,000 every week – it’s organised chaos at Transport for London’s (TfL) lost property office in West Ham, east London.
As you walk around the warehouse you see the seemingly endless shelves filled with backpacks, handbags, phones, umbrellas, skateboards, scooters, buggies, footballs – you name it.
It’s brimming with London life, but it’s all lost. And with just three months to claim what’s theirs, if owners aren’t quick they may run out of time.
Still, there’s fun to be had here. The staff showing me around have a spring in their step as they tell me about the painstaking amount of work that goes into logging and sorting up to 1,100 new items per day.
“There’s a real surprise factor. Every day is different,” says Diana Quaye, the lost property office’s manager. “The other day we had a bollard come in from the Tube… I was questioning that, but we’ve been assured that it was definitely from the Tube!”
Who would ever want to leave this lovely fella behind?
But it’s not just random junk. Some of these shelves hold seriously expensive stuff – Rolex watches, engagement and wedding rings and other expensive jewellery, the staff have seen it all. And much of it has never been claimed.
They have also found bags containing significant sums of cash, some as high as £15,000.
“There’s a lot of money that comes through here that we don’t get the chance to return because its owners assume it won’t get handed in,” says Ms Quaye.
TfL lost property office manager Diana Quaye
Can you guess some of the weirdest items that have been left on public transport since TfL’s lost property service opened for business 90 years ago? I doubt it.
Weirdest lost property
- A box of cooked frogs – not just legs, full frogs
- Dried snakes
- A tray of different coloured false eyes
- A glass jar filled with bats
- A puffer fish
- A wedding dress
- A Dalek costume
- A parachute
- A bollard
- A taxidermied fox with a crown – so it’s extra fancy
- A prosthetic leg
- A new 50-inch TV
Items most frequently left behind in 2021
- 40,015 books, documents and cards
- 34,593 bags
- 24,429 items of clothing
- 10,653 pairs of glasses
- 9,234 keys
How is it all sorted?
Every day may be different, but make no mistake: it looks tedious.
Every single new item, whether it’s an iPhone or a filthy scarf, has to go through a rigorous process.
First, they get sorted into one of a dozen different categories, from clothing, handbags and jewellery to keys, personal documents, phones and electronics. Plus general items – you know, your dried snakes, false eyes and such. This alone can take a full day to complete if it comes during a particularly busy day on public transport.
Each item then gets logged on a database, aptly called NotLost, with a unique reference number. Staff will input as much detail as possible about each item so that if an owner calls to find their property, there are plenty of identifiers.
They get moved to the correct storage area, waiting for their owners to come and claim them.
The vast majority of the time, however, the lost property staff’s efforts are in vain – as only about 8% of all items left behind get reunited with their owners.
On the right… a bollard
‘One man’s trash…’
“Every time my staff log something, whatever it is, they keep the idea in their heads that somebody will try and claim it,” Ms Quaye says. “That’s why they take their time, go through each item and make sure they get as much information as possible.
“I always say to myself: ‘Somebody else may not think it’s important, but a person out there may think it’s really important to them’.”
The day before my visit, TfL reunited a mum with her phone, she tells me. It had precious photos of her baby on it which hadn’t been downloaded on any other devices, so she assumed they had been lost forever.
It shows how seemingly replaceable items can be anything but, Ms Quaye says. “We put ourselves in their shoes because we can imagine what they’re going through when they lose things like that.”
The original TfL lost property office was founded in 1933, located at 200 Baker Street, near Marylebone
It’s been 30 years, yet nobody’s taking the Mickey
Ms Quaye’s sentiments echo across her workplace. I pass one member of the inputting team who is logging a shoddy-looking Spider-Man lunchbox; not far to his left there’s a rack containing at least 50 used water bottles, each fitted with a unique yellow tag.
“Got to be done,” another team member tells us. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
What happens to items that don’t get claimed?
While the hope is that all items get returned to their rightful owner, any that don’t within three months of being lost become the property of TfL (though cash is held for a year).
It either gets donated to charity, recycled, disposed of, or sold in public auctions – the profits of which go directly into running the lost property service. Any personal data is also completely wiped or destroyed.
There is the odd exception. If something is lost that the team at TfL considers particularly unique or rich in historical value, it might be kept well beyond the three-month expiration date.
Up a staircase, on a platform overseeing all of the site’s lost property, there’s a section containing the oldest, biggest and strangest items left on TfL lines over the years.
It’s where a lot of the aforementioned weirdest stuff lives, as well as some ancient-looking artefacts, artwork, an old sewing machine and a Mickey Mouse figure found in 1993. It looks a bit like a museum.
“That’s what we’re aiming for,” one member of staff says.
How do I claim my property?
You can enquire by going to TfL’s lost property page.
You’ll need to provide as much detail as you possibly can about what you lost, where you lost it and when.
It can take up to 15 days for your enquiry to be processed. After that, TfL will notify you to let you know if they think they’ve got what you’re looking for, or if they need more information.
Once it’s been confirmed they have your property, they’ll let you know how you can reclaim it – either by visiting their office by appointment or having it couriered for an additional cost on top of an admin fee, which can vary depending on what the item is and where it was found.
And if you’ve ever left anything on the Tube in the past, never to be reunited, rest assured it was well looked after. Or, if you were once the proud owner of a box of cooked frogs, a regal taxidermied fox, or a mystery bollard, you can take pride knowing it may have found its place in TfL museum history.
BBC chair Samir Shah has said there is “no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this” – after Donald Trump said he would sue the corporation for between $1bn and $5bn.
It comes after the US president confirmed on Saturday he would be taking legal action against the broadcaster over the editing of his speech on Panorama – despite an apology from the BBC.
Samir Shah said the BBC’s position ‘has not changed’. Pic: Reuters
In an email to staff, Mr Shah said: “There is a lot being written, said and speculated upon about the possibility of legal action, including potential costs or settlements.
“In all this we are, of course, acutely aware of the privilege of our funding and the need to protect our licence fee payers, the British public.
“I want to be very clear with you – our position has not changed. There is no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this.”
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On Saturday, President Trump told reporters legal action would come in the following days.
“We’ll sue them. We’ll sue them for anywhere between a billion (£792m) and five billion dollars (£3.79bn), probably sometime next week,” he said.
“We have to do it, they’ve even admitted that they cheated. Not that they couldn’t have not done that. They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”
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The BBC on Thursday said the edit of Mr Trump’s speech on 6 January 2021 had given the “mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”.
The broadcaster apologised and said the splicing of the speech was an “error of judgment” but refused to pay financial compensation after the US leader’s lawyers threatened to sue for one billion dollars in damages unless a retraction and apology were published.
Deborah Turness. Pic: Reuters
Tim Davie. Pic: PA
The Panorama scandal prompted the resignations of two of the BBC’s most senior executives – director-general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness.
The broadcaster has said it will not air the Panorama episode Trump: A Second Chance? again, and published a retraction on the show’s webpage on Thursday.
A British man who hacked the X accounts of celebrities in a bid to con people out of Bitcoin, has been ordered to repay £4.1m-worth of the cryptocurrency, prosecutors say.
Joseph James O’Connor, 26, was jailed in the United States for five years in 2023 after he pleaded guilty to charges including computer intrusion, wire fraud and extortion.
He was arrested in Spain in 2021 and extradited after the country’s high court ruled the US was best placed to prosecute because the evidence and victims were there.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Monday it had obtained a civil recovery order to seize 42 Bitcoin and other crypto assets linked to the scam, in which O’Connor used hijacked accounts to solicit digital currency and threaten celebrities.
The July 2020 hack compromised accounts of high-profile figures including former US presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
O’Connor and his co-conspirators stole more than $794,000 (£629,000) of cryptocurrency after using the hacked accounts to ask people to send $1,000 in Bitcoin to receive double back.
Prosecutor Adrian Foster said the civil recovery order showed that “even when someone is not convicted in the UK, we are still able to ensure they do not benefit from their criminality”.
The order, which valued O’Connor’s assets at around £4.1m, was made last week, following a freeze placed on the hacker’s property, which prosecutors secured during extradition proceedings.
Barack Obama was one of the famous people to have their Twitter account hacked
Elon Musk was among those targeted by scammers in a Twitter hack
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A court-appointed trustee will liquidate his assets, the CPS said.
The attack also compromised the X (then Twitter) accounts of other high-profile figures including Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, investor Warren Buffett, and media personality and businesswoman Kim Kardashian.
The hack prompted the social media platform to temporarily freeze some accounts.
X said 130 accounts were targeted, with 45 used to send tweets.
The cobbled streets of Newport in Middlesbrough survive from the Victorian era.
The staggering levels of child poverty here also feel like they belong in a different time.
Six out of every seven children in Newport are classified as living in poverty.
Six out of every seven children in Newport are classified as living in poverty
The measure is defined by the Child Poverty Action Group as a household with an income less than 60% of the national average.
More than half of children across the whole of the constituency of Middlesbrough and Thornaby East are growing up in poverty.
As a long-awaited new strategy on child poverty is expected from the government, much of the focus on tackling the problem has been placed on lifting the two-child cap on benefits for families.
Researchers say there is direct link between areas with the highest rates of child poverty and those with the highest proportion of children affected by that two-child cap.
The two-child benefit cap means Gemma Grafton and Lee Stevenson receive no additional universal credit for three-month-old Ivie
Mother-of-three Gemma Grafton said: “Maybe if families do have more than two children, give them that little bit of extra help because it would make a difference.”
Three months ago, she and partner Lee welcomed baby Ivie into the world. With two daughters already, the cap means they receive no additional universal credit.
“You don’t seem to have enough money some months to cover the basics,” said Lee.
“Having to tell the kids to take it easy, that’s not nice, when they’re just wanting to help themselves to get what they want and we’ve got to say ‘Try and calm down on what you’re eating’ because we haven’t got the money to go and get shopping in,” added Gemma.
Katrina Morley, of Dormanstown Primary Academy, says lack of sleep affects concentration
Tracey Godfrey-Harrison says parents ‘are crying that they’re failing’
The couple had to resort to paying half of the rent one month, something they say is stressful and puts their home at risk.
Those who work in the area of child poverty say they are engaged in a battle with child exploitation gangs who will happily step in and offer children a lucrative life of crime.
“Parents are crying that they’re failing because they can’t provide for their children,” said Tracey Godfrey-Harrison, project manager at the Middlesbrough Food Bank.
“In today’s society, it’s disgraceful that anyone should have to cry because they don’t have enough.”
In the shadow of a former steelworks, Dormanstown Primary Academy serves pupils in a community hit hard by the economic collapse that followed.
The school works with charities and businesses to increase opportunities for pupils now and in the future.
Katrina Morley, the academy’s chief executive, said: “A child who hasn’t been able to sleep properly can’t concentrate. They’re tired. We know that the brain doesn’t work in the same way. A child who is hungry can’t access the whole of life.
“When you face hardship, it affects not just your physiology but your emotional sense, your brain development, your sense of worth. They don’t get today back and their tomorrow is our tomorrow.”
Dormanstown Primary Academy serves pupils in a community hit hard by the closure of a steel plant
Barney’s Baby Bank founder Debbie Smith says local people ‘are struggling with food’
The school’s year six pupils see the value of things like the on-site farm shop for families in need.
They are open about their own worries, too.
Bonnie, 10, said: “I think that’s very important because it ensures all the people in our community have options if they’re struggling.
“It can be life-changing for families in poverty or who have a disadvantage in life because they don’t have enough money and they’re really struggling to get their necessities.”
Mark, also 10, said: “I worry about if we have nowhere to live and if we haven’t got enough money to pay for our home. But at least we have our family.”
They also see the homelessness in the area as the impact of poverty. “I think it actually happens more often than most people think,” said Leo, “because near the town, there’s people on the streets and they have nowhere to go.”
The school is one of many calling for the lifting of the two-child cap.
The need for life’s essentials has prompted more than 50 families to register for help at Barney’s Baby Bank in the last 11 months. Nappies, wipes, clothing, shoes, toys, are a lifeline for those who call in.
Founder Debbie Smith said local people “are struggling with food. They’re obviously struggling to clothe their babies as well. It’s low wages, high unemployment, job insecurity and that two-child benefit cap”.
“Middlesbrough does feel ignored,” she added.
A government spokesperson said: “Every child, no matter their background, deserves the best start in life. That’s why our Child Poverty Taskforce will publish an ambitious strategy to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.
“We are investing £500m in children’s development through the rollout of Best Start Family Hubs, extending free school meals and ensuring the poorest don’t go hungry in the holidays through a new £1bn crisis support package.”
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But what is the message to those making the decisions from the North East?
“Come and do my job for a week and see the need and the desperation the people are in,” said Ms Godfrey-Harrison. “There needs to be more done for people in Middlesbrough.”
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