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Southeastern: New lost and found system sees more items returned

Southeastern: New lost and found system sees more items returned

BBC News11-05-2025

Trumpets, church keys and an insulin pen were among the almost 5,000 lost items successfully returned to their owners as part of a train company's new lost and found scheme.More than 19,000 belongings were retrieved by Southeastern from trains and stations within the year and nearly 25% were reunited with owners - up from 10% last year.The most "forgetful" areas include London (5,762 items), Tonbridge/Hastings (3,672 items) and Ramsgate (2,231 items), according to the train service.Using unique QR codes to tag and track lost items, Southeastern's lost property lead Aaron Cox said the system is "quicker, more secure and easier to use".
The most commonly mislaid items were backpacks (2,056), mobile phones (1,745) and earphones (1,136), according to Southeastern data.Other returned items have included an antique glass owl, tents and a snooker cue.The digital lost and found scheme launched in April 2024, replacing a paper system that was previously in place.

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Howzat for a view? Dream flats that give owners one of the most coveted views in cricket with terrace overlooking the Oval go on sale
Howzat for a view? Dream flats that give owners one of the most coveted views in cricket with terrace overlooking the Oval go on sale

Daily Mail​

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Howzat for a view? Dream flats that give owners one of the most coveted views in cricket with terrace overlooking the Oval go on sale

Cricket fans who want to stay at the heart of the action will be bowled over by a set of dream flats overlooking one of the sport's most iconic venues. The plush properties at Oval Mansions offer exceptional views of the Oval in south London and have now gone up for sale for between £400,000 and £600,000. Those who can stump up the cash will be the envy of cricket lovers across the country as they take in the Tests from the building's stunning roof terrace. And they can even bring friends along to watch the drama unfold, though strict limits are sometimes enforced for the highest-profile games. During the Ashes series between England and Australia, spots on the terrace are so highly sought after that plus ones are limited to just one per flat, with management regularly having to eject those who manage to sneak in. TV coverage from matches at the Oval regularly cuts to the swish viewing point, which was built just after the ground itself in the 1880s and is the last remaining building which mimics the shape of the hallowed stadium. And things often get slightly out of hand up on the terrace, with tenants telling infamous stories of when fans brought cheese fondues, Magnum bottles of wine and even full English breakfasts up to the rooftop to enjoy during a match. Joe Redmond, who has rented a flat at Oval Mansions for around two years, reminisced about the last Ashes series whilst watching Tuesday's ODI match between England and the West Indies from his vantage point. The 28-year-old, a civil servant at the Department for Transport, took the day off to watch England's third successive win with his girlfriend's dad, David Bartley, who had travelled from the Midlands for the match. He said: 'We made sure we moved in a week before the last Ashes test. 'We've seen some great Tests up here. We saw Stuart Broad's last wicket up here. 'It's nice to go between the ground and the terrace... It's a different atmosphere up here - it's great.' Mr Redmond recalled answering the door to a BBC camera crew accompanied by England cricket legend Phil Tuffnell during the last Ashes Test in August 2023. 'Phil Tuffnell came up here and filmed a bit, saying it was the best terrace in the world,' he added. 'He got us to do stuff like pretend someone had just got a wicket. 'It was crazy during the Ashes. People were getting to the terrace for 8am to secure a spot. 'One group had a massive cheese fondue, another group had a massive bowl of punch... One guy had a Magnum (1.5 litre) bottle of wine he was sharing round. It was the best atmosphere.' Another tenant, Olga Tyurina, had invited friend Ollie Carter over to watch the match. 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It would be hard to argue against this being the best cricket property in the world. I think it's one of the prettiest stadiums in England.' Henry Stalder, 23, also recently moved in and said: 'I have been to the Oval a few times. A few of my friends are members... But I saw this place come up and thought it was perfect. 'It saves on the membership fees. [The terrace] was a big selling point. The main attraction. I've got a few friends coming up later. It's a different, fun view. It's like having a season ticket included in the rent.' Management consultant Tom had brought his friend Dom, a doctor, to the terrace for the ODI match. 'It's my second season of cricket [at Oval Mansions],' Tom said. 'I've probably seen 20 or 30 matches... It's so convenient and not a bad lifestyle. 'It would be good to do an Ashes weekend. The quality of the Oval itself attracts high-profile games. With the quality of the view, you might as well be in the crowd. 'You can bring friends up and not have to worry about forking out for beers and stuff. The view was the main reason me and my housemate moved here. 'We are both big cricket fans, and opportunities like this don't come around often.' Anish Ram, who works in trading, agreed the terrace was the main draw to his flat, which he moved into around nine months ago. 'It's a different kind of experience up here,' the 24-year-old, who took the day off to watch the ODI, said. 'I'm a pretty big cricket fan... It's the main reason I came here.' Meanwhile, marketing worker Ollie Pearce and girlfriend Freya Hatter, a marine biologist, came up to the terrace with a meal deal on their lunch break. Mr Pearce, 28, also recently moved in and was excited to catch some matches from the terrace. He said: 'I've only been to the one so far. Surrey versus Yorkshire. We saw Jonny Bairstow back at York and Surrey won, which is always good. 'You can't really beat it, can you?' The building's halcyon days fell during the iconic 2005 Ashes when cricketing greats mixed with tenants and the world's media on its rooftop to watch England beat Australia to win back the Ashes urn for the first time since the 1980s. TV teams rented flats and moved their operations to the building, while some directors were said to have left their seats in the corporate stands in favour of watching from the terrace.

Southeastern train stuck after hitting tree near Ashford
Southeastern train stuck after hitting tree near Ashford

BBC News

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Southeastern train stuck after hitting tree near Ashford

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The car is still king! Ridiculous train fares make them look like absolute bargains
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Auto Express

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The car is still king! Ridiculous train fares make them look like absolute bargains

When I'm not happily driving cars, I'm a grudging train passenger who's regularly ripped off, let down or disillusioned by this much-hyped strike-prone public transport. The customer experience is so underwhelming that my confidence in, and respect for, Britain's heavily subsidised rail industry has rarely – if ever – been lower. Advertisement - Article continues below I'm not sure if it's me giving up on the train or the train giving up on me. Either way, the 'alternative to the car' is as implausible now as it was in the nineties, when notoriously hypocritical Transport Secretary John Prescott (a user of two Jaguars) told me to tell you, dear reader, that the train would soon take over as the preferred mode of transport for the average Brit. This was as blatantly untrue then as it is now, not least because the cost of rail travel is exorbitant. Travel from, say, Cardiff to Aberdeen and the standard single/one-way fare is from £285.50 – more than many flights from the UK to the Far East. People in central London doing short journeys can pay up to £15 per mile. In the Stratford quarter of the capital, passengers can pay up to £2.21 per minute on the fastest trains. A standard annual season ticket from Ebbsfleet, Kent, to St Pancras, 20 miles and minutes up the line, costs £6,000-plus. Add £1,815 for a yearly parking pass and an extra £2,000 for tube or taxi fares and we're talking £10,000 or more per annum. That's enough to buy a used car, refuel petrol tanks for several years, or charge an electric car at home for well over a decade. If tickets weren't so prohibitively expensive and responsible for preventing freedom of movement among low-paid workers, students, shoppers, holidaymakers and cash-strapped folk seeking jobs, social lives or both, they'd be comical. But current Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander can still deliver some rail-related hilarity – as she proved with her performance on 25 May, when her Government began renationalising rail services. 'Today marks a new dawn for our railways,' she enthused during her away-day on the first renationalised train from London's Waterloo station. Further promises included 'moving away from 30 years of failing passengers', who now get 'higher standards'. She has to be the funniest Transport Sec cum stand-up comedian since Two Jags Prescott. How so? Because her highly symbolic train ride couldn't be completed by, er, train. It took her four times longer than scheduled. And it was completed only after passengers were embarrassingly turfed off and ordered to complete their journeys in dreaded rail-replacement buses which, in my experience, are even more unpleasant (if that's possible) than iffy trains or railway lines. If Britain's highest-ranking transport politician believes that this latest fiasco and wallet-busting fares represent 'higher standards', she's more out of her depth than I feared. Trains too expensive in your area? We can help you find a great deal on a new car instead ...

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