A boombox, a cupboard door, a large rubber sloth and a bag full of harmonicas are among some of the odder items left on Brighton and Hove’s buses last year.
Brighton and Hove Buses has released details of some of the 14,000+ items left on its buses in 2025.
And as well as the more curious things, it’s also compiled lists of the most common fabric patterns and designers for lost clothing and authors of forgotten books, giving a snapshot of the city’s fashion sense and reading habits.
Sally Rooney, Peter James and Lee Child were the most popular authors discovered among the 369 books that were left on buses.
Leopard print was the most popular pattern, followed closely by unicorns, animal print and camo – with dragons and dinosaurs also appearing in the top ten.
When it came to pop culture, first place went to Pokémon, featuring on 26 items. Spiderman swung into second place (23), followed by Minecraft (19), Marvel (13) and Paw Patrol (9).
And though Nike (181), Primark (101) and Adidas (83) topped popular clothing brands, Tommy Hilfiger (17) Ray-Ban (14), Ted Baker (13), Louis Vuitton (11), Armani (9), Ralph Lauren (6) Prada (6) Michael Kors (5), Gucci (5) and Valentino (3) were also left behind.
2025 also saw a pilot reunited with his bag and passport which were left on the bus. When he could not check in for his flight, the team managed to find his bag and reunite them before the check-in closed, allowing him to fly.
In total, 62 passports were found last year and most were reunited with their owners.
Meanwhile seven guitars, five violins, and even a keyboard ended up in lost property, along with a pressure cooker, a tent, a drone, a skateboard, a Nintendo Switch, a fishing rod, a box of tools, some power drills, snooker cues, camping chairs and a large boombox.
Smaller items included a frying pan, a cupboard door, a bag full of harmonicas, a kiwi neck cushion, a cat scratching post, a string of lights, a large reptile costume tail, a pile of hymn books, a bag of emeralds, a Quartz watch, a dressing gown and slippers, a bird perch, a garden gnome, a set of iron maiden posters, a set of cat posters, a large rubber sloth, a magnifying glass, a large pom pom, a stack of nursery rhymes, nail clippers, two potted plants, a womble, multiple wedding rings, the head of a statue, a toy banana, a world map, a television remote and a giant stuffed turtle.
And though a total of over £14,000 in cash was handed in throughout 2025, over 70 per cent of it was returned to owners.
For all those items that don’t get claimed, the teams at Brighton and Hove Buses and Metrobus donate to charities like Mind, Oxfam and the Sussex Beacon, and in 2025 managed to help raise over £500 through donated items.
