Lost and found chaos as Shropshire police links axed

A jeweller says she is being approached by members of the public who do not know where to go to either hand items in or look for lost valuables.

Shane Green, from Fabricius Green Jewellers in Shrewsbury, said she was saddened when she realised that since the closure of the town's police station front counter there was nowhere to hand in lost property.

It is a situation that is being replicated across the county as front counters of stations are closed.

Shrewsbury's police station was effectively closed to the public in 2014 as part of a cost-cutting scheme to save West Mercia Police £20.1 million by 2015.

Counters were also closed in Bridgnorth, Church Stretton, Ludlow, Market Drayton, Oswestry, Wem and Whitchurch.

Ms Green said: "Unfortunately people don't hand anything into the police station anymore so if you find something you don't have a clue where to go.

"There doesn't seem to be anywhere. We have got a jewellers in High Street and I have always told people if they find something to hand it into the police but it doesn't seem there is anywhere to hand it in now."

Ms Green said she had looked into it after customers came in to the store having lost items in the town.

But on contacting the police she realised there was no obvious lost and found point left in Shrewsbury.

She said: "We had a customer come in and she had lost a diamond necklace that had come off her neck, we do get it quite often people losing things.

"I was really saddened to hear there isn't anywhere.

"I think now nobody hands in anything anymore.

"It used to be even finding a £10 note you would hand it in but it is not the same any more.

"I would say it probably happens a couple of times a month or more sometimes. We are only one shop and people do lose valuable things.

"I was very saddened to find out, it doesn't make honesty easy."

Ms Green said she would like to see somewhere set up in the town centre to hand in items that have been found.

Many people take lost and found property into shops but the jeweller said that a central location would allow people to collect any valuables more easily.

She said: "It would be good to have somewhere and if people knew about it they could take things there.

"It seems very sad and does ask the question where do you hand things in now?"