Find out what '˜Donald Trump', a pork chop and a bag of condoms have in common in the East Midlands

A cardboard cut-out of Donald Trump, a pork chop, and a bag of condoms were among the 38 million items left behind on East Midlands Trains last year.
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Passengers on these trains are said to be the most forgetful in the country - according to a new survey which shows they are twice as likely to leave belongings behind compared to the national average.

The research has been carried out by East Midlands Trains, which says that almost a fifth (15%) of its passengers admit to losing up to 50 items in the past 12 months alone.

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The train operator has now revealed a list of the weird and wonderful ‘forgotten items’ which have been left on board in the area.

A cardboard cut-out of Donald Trump and a pork chop are some of the bizarre items left behind by passengers of East Midlands Trains in 2017.A cardboard cut-out of Donald Trump and a pork chop are some of the bizarre items left behind by passengers of East Midlands Trains in 2017.
A cardboard cut-out of Donald Trump and a pork chop are some of the bizarre items left behind by passengers of East Midlands Trains in 2017.

The list includes four pieces of priceless art, two 7ft surfboards, a life-size cut out of US president Donald Trump, a pork chop, a bag of condoms, false teeth, a prosthetic leg, a Star Trek costume, a 6ft inflatable cactus and enough instruments (45) to deck out half a symphony orchestra.

More common items left behind in the last year include 766 backpacks, 644 coats, 683 mobile phones, 593 wallets and nearly 400 umbrellas.

The items all equate to a staggering £906 million worth of property lost nationwide.

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To highlight the amount of property left behind East Midlands Trains, which is a part of Stagecoach Group, has partnered with the Royal Philharmonic to create the Lost Property Orchestra, a one-off performance of a personalised ode to former owners using the real instruments and more unusual items they left behind in a bid to reunite them.

the Lost Property Orchestra featuring the Royal Philharmonic playing an ode to the owners of instruments left behind. Image supplied.the Lost Property Orchestra featuring the Royal Philharmonic playing an ode to the owners of instruments left behind. Image supplied.
the Lost Property Orchestra featuring the Royal Philharmonic playing an ode to the owners of instruments left behind. Image supplied.

The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra has written and performed ‘An Ode To My Former Owner’ – a piece of music consisting of 11,304 notes, the number of items lost each year on East Midlands Trains.

It comes as data from East Midlands Trains found passengers frequently hit a bum note and forget to carry their musical instruments onto their final destination.

Guitars, pianos, harps, drums, DJ turntables and ukuleles are amongst the discarded instruments left on trains in 2017.

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As well as losing their own luggage, 86% admitted to handing the lost items they came across in to a local lost property office – but 14% of nosey parkers have a look before keeping for themselves.

Jake Kelly, managing director of East Midlands Trains says: “We’ve all been there - you hop off the train when it reaches your destination, but your keys, phone or wallet carry on the journey without you. Our new Found It! Service makes it much quicker and easier for owners to be reunited with their possessions and what better way to celebrate this 21st century match making service than through the medium of music.”

Malcolm Wilson, General Manager of the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra added: “The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra has performed with lots of weird and wonderful instruments over the years but never an inflatable cactus and surfboard. Creating, and playing, An Ode To My Former Owner, with the hope of reuniting lost property with owners, was an experience to remember. We had a lot of fun with East Midlands Trains and will be keeping our instruments close by when travelling!”

Found It! is also part of Stagecoach Group’s ongoing work to put passengers first by using new and innovative ways of helping customers’ right across the UK

For more information on the Found It! Service, please visit www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/foundit