What is the strangest item you have ever left on a bus?

Thousands of items were left on our buses in 2023 that were subsequently handed in to the lost property team. But where a lot of these items were exactly what you would expect (wallets, phones, keys, cards, hats, scarves etc), some of them might surprise you…

For example, among innumerable helmets and bike locks, there was a total of 71 manual scooters left on our buses last year, that’s more than one scooter per week, and on top of that a total of five whole bicycles. That’s a lot of wheels. And where there were many musical aids handed in, like drumsticks, guitar picks, sheet music and empty instrument cases, there were four guitars found, a silver flute, and a harmonica to boot. And also, in keeping with our wonderfully creative city, there was lots of artwork also handed in, including a full canvas painting.

Perhaps unsurprisingly there were more umbrellas found than there are days in the year (over 400), and over 150 instances where cash was handed in to our team – a total of over £1,000 was returned to owners. Well done to all local residents of Brighton & Hove and East/West Sussex!

Residents might also be surprised that nine items of underwear were found on our buses, including a bra, a thong and a velvet pouch containing an adult toy!

Electronics were also big culprits for our lost property department, and this year they included a PS5 controller, a Nintendo Switch and a full VR headset! Not to mention over 100 sets of headphones. One driver even discovered an iron. And among the larger items that were discovered there were golf clubs, a drying rack, an air mattress and a giant cuddly elephant!

Among the stranger objects reported, there was a replica sword, a toilet seat, pom poms and dentures, but there are some that are still a mystery to this day: There was a large suitcase containing 3 empty egg boxes (your guess is as good as ours!), a large stuffed dog, a single shoe, 6 3ft pieces of wood, a dressing gown and somebody’s cat – which was safely returned to the local vet.

If you have left an item on one of our buses, please get in touch with our customer services team who will be happy to help you. You can contact Metrobus at [email protected] or call on 01293 449191.