A letter detailing sexual fantasies, a whip and a fireman's helmet were among the unusual items left on Oxford Bus Company buses during the past year.

Among the thousands of belongings left on buses and coaches in 2018 were a light sabre, a fireman’s helmet, vampire teeth and a man’s toupee.

And for the second year in a row a Soviet Union hat was left on an Oxford Bus Company bus.

READ AGAIN: Oxford Bus Company urges drivers to get on board

Staff at the firm's lost property department recorded 2,800 items in 2018, a 1,323 reduction in belongings left on its services around the county compared to the previous year.

Oxford Mail:

Of the 2,800 items just under 1,000 were reclaimed by passengers who paid a £1 administration and storage fee for the return of their belongings to help towards costs. Unrecovered items are donated to local charities, or safely disposed of.

Customer relations officer Josh Stone said: “In the past 12 months we have experienced a sizeable reduction in the number of items left on our bus network.

"We always seek to reunite passengers with their belongings, and we encourage everyone to check they have their personal items before leaving our buses.

“Unfortunately, a lot of things do get left behind, and we hold them for a fixed period in case they are claimed, so it is always worth getting in touch if you’ve lost something.

"Mobile phones and bags are the most common items left on buses, but we do collect quite a few unusual items as well.

“If an item is not claimed the driver who handed it in is entitled to keep it, but we do give a huge number of unclaimed items to charity every year.

"It is nice that we are able to help charities in this way and make sure items do not go to waste and subsequently help others.”

Oxford Bus Company provides extensive bus routes in Oxford city and Abingdon, luxury coach services to London and the airports, the BROOKESBus service, in partnership with Oxford Brookes University, the park-and-ride service which connects five car parks to the city and the app-based PickMeUp passenger demand service in the eastern part of the city.

Ten of the unusual items left on buses included:

  • Sexual fantasy love letter
  • A whip
  • Set of vampire teeth
  • Superman cape
  • Soviet Union hat
  • A boiled egg in a handbag
  • A fireman’s helmet
  • A man’s toupee
  • A light sabre
  • A pair of pants.