Where property has been left in a licensed vehicle, the driver has a duty to attempt to reunite that property with the owner. This may not always be possible due to the driver being unaware of who left the property, being unable to get in contact with the person or some other reason.
Any person using a licensed vehicle has their own responsibility to ensure that they check to ensure they have all of their belongings before exiting the vehicle.
Where a driver finds and/or has property handed to them which has been left in the vehicle, and which they have been unable to reunite with the owner, the driver should return that property to the council offices within 72 hours of that property being handed to them. We will take custody of the item and will record relevant details in a dedicated register. We may search that item to ensure it is safe to be stored and/or to attempt to identify the owner.
We will store items which have been handed in to us for a maximum of 3 months from it being handed in. After this, the item will be destroyed. Any money which is returned to the council will be donated to the Mayor's Charity after 3 months have elapsed.
If you believe we hold property which is yours, you will need to attend our offices to collect it. We will not mail or courier an item back to the presumed owner. We need to see some form of identification and will need you to demonstrate to our satisfaction that the item is actually yours. This may mean you will need to answer questions about the condition or give information about distinguishing marks before we can give you the item.
We accept no liability for items being returned to a person who its rightful owner (for example, where a person makes a false representation to us of ownership of the item).