Devon man upset after late wife's bus pass seized by driver

BBC News

17-04-2025

A man from Devon said a "total mistake" left him upset as he lost a treasured item that belonged to his late wife. Clive Angior, 81, from Plympton, said he was heading home on a bus from Royal Parade in Plymouth city centre when he inadvertently showed his wife's bus pass instead of his own. He said he carried the pass for sentimental reasons but the "driver seized it" and would not return it. Stagecoach South West said that "if a concession pass is identified as expired, their current process is that drivers retain the pass and return to the local authority in that area". However, Mr Angior has been given a copy of its photograph.
'Permanent reminder'
Mr Angior said he and his wife Maureen were married for 38 years before she died in 2023. He added that he carried her old bus pass with him in his pocket as a "permanent reminder of her" as "they used to travel on the bus together". He said he accidently placed his wife's pass on the vehicle's card reader instead of his own.
"The driver immediately spotted that it had expired and said he was seizing the pass as its now council property," he saidMr Angior added that he used his own pass and continued with the journey but asked several times if he could have his wife's pass back but was told no. He said he told the driver that it was "really important" to him and asked if he could make an "exception" to the rule but the driver refused.
'Sentimental value'
Stagecoach said they "understand the sentimental value of the pass" and contacted the council in an "attempt to reunite it with the passenger."Plymouth City Council added that it contacted Mr Angior directly and said it could not provide him with the original pass as it was likely "destroyed or lost."The authority agreed to send a copy of the photo that was on the pass. Mr Angior said he "accepted the fact he wouldn't get the pass back" but was "very happy with the compromise" that was reached.