Going in search of lost treasures (From This Is Local London)

Going in search of lost treasures

9:41am Friday 7th September 2007 in

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Transport for London (TfL) finds nearly 160,000 items a year which have been left on its fleet of buses, trains and taxis.

IF YOU lose your wallet on the Tube, there's a good chance it will end up in the hands of Ted Batchelor.

No, he isn't the capital's most prolific pickpocket - he is TfL's lost property office supervisor.

The office has been based at Baker Street station since 1933 and employs 40 staff.

It is full of items ranging from umbrellas, bags and shoes to samurai swords and skulls.

Around 10 per cent of lost property is reunited with its owner, but this figure varies for different items. For bags and wallets, the figure is nearer 40 per cent.

Of the 156,546 items misplaced in the past financial year, 15,116 were successfully returned to their owner, a rate of 9.7 per cent.

Mr Batchelor, of Waller Street, New Cross, is originally from Melbourne, Australia.

He has lived in the UK for the past five years and has worked at the office for the past three-and-a-half years.

The affable 41-year-old Aussie, who gave a guided tour around the building's three floors, says there has been a noticeable increase in bags coming in since the July 7 bombings.

He said: "I would attribute this to the public being more vigilant as a result of the bombings."

All property which comes into the office - about 600 to 800 items a day - is kept for a period of three months.

After this has expired, charities get 85 per cent of the items and the remaining 15 per cent is auctioned off on a website to fund the office, which costs around £2m a year to operate.

Mr Batchelor explained some of the stranger items people have left behind include plasma TVs, a vasectomy kit, bull sperm, a theatre coffin and even wheelchairs.

He added: "We do get the occasional wheelchair. Miracles seemingly do happen on London's transport network. If you can name it, it has been here."

Mr Batchelor says nowadays more people are coming back to pick up sex toys, as it is now more socially acceptable to have them.

The most expensive property left was a bag of diamonds worth £40,000. The owner claimed it the next morning.

Mr Batchelor also revealed they have hundreds of sets of false teeth.

He said: "People tend to lose their teeth when they throw up on the Tube.

"We had one guy who came in and claimed a set then came back later and said they didn't fit.

"It's all glamour here at lost property.

"There is a direct correlation between alcohol and lost property."

Joking aside, Mr Batchelor says the majority of people really appreciate the service the office provides.

He added: "It's really nice giving stuff back to people, I enjoy it. I'm glad people appreciate the work we do."

Call the lost property office on 0845 330 9882 or log inquiries online at tfl.gov.uk/lpo