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London's Lost and Found: Frogs, Ashes, and 6,000 Items Weekly!
29 Nov
Summary
- 6,000 items are lost weekly, including unusual objects like cooked frogs and ashes.
- Transport for London's warehouse is Europe's largest lost property office.
- Less than one-fifth of items lost on London transport are ever reclaimed by owners.
Every week, Transport for London's vast lost property warehouse in East London receives around 6,000 misplaced items. This massive facility, comparable in size to a football pitch, handles everything from common objects like phones and keys to the distinctly unusual, such as a bag of cooked frogs and an urn containing ashes. Perishable goods are discarded, but other items are cataloged and stored.
Despite the diligent efforts of a 45-person staff, a significant majority of these lost possessions are never reclaimed. Less than one-fifth of items left on London's tubes, buses, and trains find their way back to their owners. After a holding period, unclaimed items are typically donated to charities or put up for auction.
Unclaimed sports equipment is often given to local schools, while new toys are distributed to children's charities during the Christmas season. Even a seven-year-old case involving an urn of ashes was successfully resolved, with the item eventually returned to its owner in Germany, highlighting the diverse and sometimes long-term nature of lost property cases.
