YOU would be amazed at what people leave on a bus. Peter Edwards, commercial director at First, has been divulging the contents of the firm's bulging lost property office to the Diary.

"We've got staff who have never had to buy an umbrella," he quipped, referring to the umbrellas left littering vehicles on a daily basis, alongside mobile phones and bags of PE kit.

"We pick up musical instruments every day. We've got violins, guitars, trumpets, coronets, saxophones, flutes and clarinets - although we've yet to pick up a double bass or a bassoon.

"We put it all together and we nearly had enough to set up an orchestra. We were saying that all we needed to make it work was some percussion. The next day, we got a tambourine."

Peter said: "You find underwear that's still got the price ticket on it. At least it's new. We pick up so much PE kit, we are on first name terms with school staff. We even ring the mobile phones we find to try and find the owners."

There are strict rules governing what staff can do with lost property but, after a given period, Peter said it becomes "ours to dispose of as we wish".

That, presumably, doesn't apply to the odd recreational drug the driver finds secreted away on the back seat.

SPEAKING of lost property, Garry and Rebecca Tall, of Scarborough, are offering a reward after losing a cherished heirloom near Micklegate on their last visit to York.

This toy polar bear is approximately 20cm high with brown eyes and a pinkish coloured nose. Readers are being asked to check under the sideboard and see if they've picked it up by mistake.

The eight-year-old family friend is "desperately missed" said Garry and was mislaid on November 25 either at Micklegate or at York Station.

If you've got it, get in touch on 01723 378060.

ANNE McIntosh, Vale of York MP and Diary fashion correspondent, has been turning heads at Westminster again with her individual dress sense. The latest outfit to send eyebrows arching was the one she wore to the State Opening of Parliament, a bright red suit, with a pill-box style hat and a red and black trim. One society wag said of all the outfits on view, Anne's was "most in need of planning permission". Don't listen to them Anne, they clearly lack your style.

ONE van driver seemed a little lost when he stopped outside York Crown Court and asked if he was in the right place for Teesside Crown Court. "Try Middlesbrough," was the dry response from the court staff member he accosted.

Updated: 09:16 Wednesday, December 01, 2004