To the person who disposed of a backpack outside my flat in Ryedale last night

[Ameliesmum]

There's a set of keys and a green keyring inside the bag, some food a beer and a pen.

It is safe and if you know who's this might be contact me on here and I'll leave it outside when convenient.

[Huggers]

dumped by a mugger who has removed the wallet?

[Horsebox]

Why not just hand it in to the police?

[Sue]

Ameliesmum Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

if you know who's this might be

> contact me on here and I'll leave it outside when

> convenient.

xxxxxxx

For someone else to steal? :-S

[Ameliesmum]

Thanks for the tip Horsebox, will do if I don't get a reply here in a few days.

[edcam]

The chances are that whoever it belongs to doesn't come on this forum. You should give it to the police now, whoever it belongs to is probably rather distressed.

[new mother]

For goodness sake, why do people post here with things they have found. Hand it into the police. End of story. That is your duty, legal and moral. Isn't that clear?!

[Ameliesmum]

new mother Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> For goodness sake, why do people post here with

> things they have found. Hand it into the police.

> End of story. That is your duty, legal and moral.

> Isn't that clear?!

xxxxxx

What is your problem? Go get angry at someone else I do not require anger from stangers after doing something out of good will, thank you.

[Huguenot]

Ameliesmum don't worry about the angry wierdies - it's perfectly natural to ask around friends and acquaintances in the first instance. With 20,000 daily users in a community of only 5,000 residents it's highly likely that someone on here would know about what had happened.

Moreover if I had been a mugging victim I would probably find it even more reassuring that someone in the local community was looking out for me in addition to the police. So that's a great thing. :)

It does sound like it was stolen from a pub or something, so if nothing comes up in the next 48 hours it might be worth alerting the Safer Neighborhood Team. Maybe check in at the Herne?

[Alan Medic]

I think quite a few things end up being returned to their owners thanks to a post on the forum. Not sure why new mother has a problem with this?

[Huggers]

actually I certainly agree with New Mother re things like credit cards. If you find them, hand them straight in to bank or police. You can always put a note on the forum that you have done so.

[Scruffy Mummy]

Hi Ameliesmum

Don't let it get to you - over time, you can see that particular posters take particular tones of voice. Some people always take a self-righteous, high&mightly, put-down tone. Take it with a pinch of salt and to be honest, when someone winds me up, I take comfort in knowing that those people are actually hiding alot of insecurity - why else would they take pleasure in sarky, unpleasant posts?

I agree that probably the best strategy is to both hand something to the police and then post on the forum. Then you will have handed it in to the authorities and also did your best to publise it. And it's very true - sometimes I think that everyone in ED reads this forum! It's great that you actually took an interest - instead of ignoring the bag or simply chucking it away.

[Ameliesmum]

Thanks everyone for the replies, to be very honest, I didn't think it had been stolen in the first place so posting here was already helpful, then, after people suggested it had been stolen that's when handing it to the police came to mind, not before..

I thought someone had left if there and would pick it up in the morning or something, I have an innocent little mind like that!!

Then in the morning my neighbour asked what the bag was and I told him I'd start a post here see if someone knew anything about it, Scuffy Mummy I tend to think everyone in ED read the forum too! Ha.. oh well..

I'll email the safe neighbourhood team this afternoon if no news here, have been in contact with them before and they came round to have a chat, I'm sure they'll take the bag with them and that'll be it, my job done.

Good day everyone.

[titch juicy]

"I thought someone had left if there and would pick

it up in the morning or something"

Honestly?

I'm not posting to have a pop- you obviously have a good heart- but you truly thought someone would dump a rucksack with their keys in, overnight, in a public place, to pick it up in the morning?!

why?

[Huguenot]

Stinking drunk?

[titch juicy]

possible i guess

[ianr]

new mother> For goodness sake, why do people post here with things they have found. Hand it into the police. End of story. That is your duty, legal and moral. Isn't that clear?!

Ameliesmum> I'll email the safe neighbourhood team this afternoon if no news here

See http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?28,711026

[Pugwash]

last year whilst walking down by the Maudsley, I picked up a wallet, looked as though someone may have got out of a car and it fell out of their pocket. Since my office is 2 mins away, I took it back with me to open it up. Several bank and building society cards, a USB memory stick, a membership card of a private educational institute, plus money. Tried USB to try and figure out if was a student at the Institute of Psychiatry (opposite me). Could not open, googled the private institute and rang them up. Explained situation, gave them the membership number and my works phone. They rang back having located the owner, who then rang me. She was a visitor at Kings College Hospital but only discovered loss of wallet when got home. I gave her works address and advised her that she could not gain access to the building after 5 pm or before 9 am. Put the wallet in the office safe and informed our admin team who act as receptionists. Found that she collected the next morning - admin annoyed that she did not leave flowers or chocolates for me. Nearest Police Station was Walworth Road and it would have been more hassle to get there especially as I had appointments all that afternoon. If I had not traced her, I would have gone to the police the next day.

[intexasatthe moment]

It can be a very time consuming process handing things in to the police .

The last time I tried I gave up after half an hour of waiting to see someone at the counter and simply left the bag ( prescription drugs of many kinds ) on the seat and left .

[bkkmei]

Hi

similar incident to Pugwash's. My mum could not locate her bag when she got off the train to visit me. Whilst phoning to cancel cards etc. one of the credit card companies called her back to say somebody had contacted them cos they'd found her bag with my mum's credit cards. He left his telephone number and my mum managed to get her bag back with most items inside. This lovely guy saved my mum a lot of hassle by doing this and it was a big relief for us. He said he would've handed the bag into the police evantually, but just wanted to try this method first, and indeed it was much quicker.

[Scruffy Mummy]

Before the advent of mobile phones, I was at a pay phone making a phone call. In my usual scruffy, messy way I had to take several items out of my bag before I could find my change purse and I put them on top of the pay phone. I then went on my merry way home! Later on, I couldn't find my wallet which had credit cards and a host of other items of ID which would have been annoying to replace. I was totally stressed out and cancelled the cards. However, later that afternoon I got a call from Southwark Library. A man had found my wallet and looked through it. Found the library card and called Southwark Libraries who then called me! I then went back up to North London where I collected the wallet. I was very thankful! I should have bought chocolates but I offered him a fiver and unfortunately, I think I might have insulted him by offering money. But I was very grateful he took the trouble!

[James Barber]

I was once in China Town with a friend. Later went to left and dicsovered a much smaller version of my winter coat left and my much larger version gone. My German friend thought this the funiest thing ever.

I squeezed into it and rang the number of card when home and arranged to meet and swap coats at Farringdon station the next morning.

Met said person next morning who was angry, and remember his face and thinking it was strange him dining alone and so apparently drunk, with me for taking his coat when he'd started it.

People can be funny/strange when they lose things.

[helena handbasket]

Within a couple of weeks of moving to ED (the UK in fact) we were burgled in the night. As it was an international move, we arrived several weeks ahead of our belongings so at that time only had a few bits of furniture, but all new electronics.

Somehow he missed most of those, including a week old Macbook, but did manage to take all wallets and purses (including passports and immigration papers etc!)

A couple of days later the local postman was doing his route a couple of roads over and noticed something in the bushes of someone's front garden. It was wallets, purses etc., obviously dumped by a thief. When he went through the ID he saw that the owners were Canadian, and he remembered that he had new residents on his route that had mail redirected from Canada and took the chance that these were the same people. He brought it to our house to find out, and sure enough it was ours. The only things not there were our mobile phones and a camera bag that luckily didn't have the camera in it.

Unfortunately it was quite an awful experience (welcome to Britain!) and I was too busy hating London/thinking we'd made a huge mistake/wanting to go home to have the clarity of mind to see that we got lucky.

[mynamehere]

My son was on the train to North Dulwich and left his phone on the seat. When I called him as a mother will the phone rang on the seat by itself until a woman answered and explained why. We arranged to meet with my son ringing her door with a bottle of wine in his hand.

Many years earlier I left my passport on a counter at an airport, walked away, far far away, realised I'd left my passport far far behind on a counter. I hurried back and there it was.

Another time in the dead center of Italy at a bank in the days before the Euro I changed ?100, received a wad of Lira and drove off several 100 miles. When I got to Mediterranean, I took out the wad of Lira and realized that the Teller had exchanged ?1000 not ?100: zeros didn't mean much in the olden days in Italy. The group I was with had a heated chat. We decided to call the bank and the Teller and her Boy Friend drove all night to meet us the next day with a big thank you.

[Bony Fido]

You should contact the Police in any incident of this sort as it could turn out to be connected with a crime having taken place.