Loose hamster among railway lost property

A hamster without a cage was found in Northern's lost property

A hamster on the loose, a prosthetic leg and a wig are among items left behind by customers of a train company.

Northern, which runs 2,500 services a day across the north of England, has recorded more than 32,690 cases of lost property since July 2022.

A spokesperson for the operator said the most common items of lost property were phones and laptops.

They said Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly stations were lost property hotspots, but items had been found on all its services and at many of the 500 railway stations the firm serves.

Missing handkerchief

Some of the other belongings left behind include a cupboard, crutches, an ironing board and a 10kg (22lb) box of chicken breasts.

One customer left their bike on a train while another contacted Northern to try and track down a plain white handkerchief.

Alex Hornby, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: "We understand that losing something can be extremely stressful so we often remind customers to make sure they have all of their personal belongings before leaving the train."

He said unattended bags could also prompt security alerts which could lead to delays and disruption.

"When a passenger comes forward to report lost property our staff work hard to track down that item and reunite them – but it's no mean feat."

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