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Transport for London’s (TfL) lost property office has long been a labyrinth of missing possessions, with purses, phones and keys often reunited with their owners.
Now, TfL has revealed that 10 per cent of passengers who accidentally part with their sex toys on public transport are reconnected with their adult devices.
According to an FOI request published last Friday (11 April), the lost property saw 20 sex toys discovered in both 2023 and 2024, found on their own and in bags with other property.
Of these, two lucky owners had their toys returned to them each year, said TfL.
Staff at Stockwell bus garage found three of the adult toys over the last two years, with six overall found at London bus garages in 2024.
The Lost Property Office (LPO) handles property found on London Buses, London Underground, London Overground, the Elizabeth Line, Docklands Light Railway, Black Taxis, Victoria Coach Station, Emirates Air Line, the London Transport Museum and TfL buildings.
TfL estimates that more than 6,000 items are handed in to staff per week during chaotic commutes and tourist journeys across the capital.
According to a similar FOI in 2019, between 2014 and 2018, Cockfosters was the site of the most sex toy discoveries, with five items found at the Piccadilly line station.
Brixton Underground station saw four, while three sex toys were lost at Putney, Rainham, Stockwell, Aldgate, Earl’s Court, Embankment, High Barnet and Waterloo stations across the five-year period.
A peak in 2016 saw as many as 32 sex toys pop up on public transport, of which 10 were successfully returned to their owners.
The TfL property office relocated from South Kensington to West Ham in 2023 to accommodate its rising itinerary of objects.
TfL said: “TfL’s Lost Property Office receives hundreds of thousands of lost items every year, which are individually catalogued and stored safely, with the details used to match against customer enquiries. Where the item has some form of identification, we try to contact the owner to let them know that their property has been found.
“When an item is reunited with its owner, a small fee is charged to cover the administrative costs of running the Lost Property Office. If, after three months, items such as books and clothing are not collected, they are given to charity or sent to auction to further help cover the costs of running the office.”
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