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Wednesday 22 Nov 2023

Monkey business! Lost toddler’s toy returned after 600-mile rail adventure

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: Central

A mother has thanked railway staff after her three-year-old’s cuddly toy monkey was lost and ended up on a 600-mile railway adventure even Paddington Bear would be proud of.

It started when Kayna Tay and her son were returning by rail from visiting grandparents for the weekend in Rutland on Monday 20 November.

During the first leg of their rail journey from Oakham to Bristol via Birmingham New Street, the young family needed to move carriages.

It’s at this point the toddler’s dinosaur rucksack containing his beloved toy – known simply as ‘Monkey’ and which he’d had since birth - was misplaced.

Realising it was missing while changing trains and with an extremely upset little boy, 43-year-old Kayna headed straight for Network Rail’s Birmingham New Street station reception, where customer service assistants Leon Allen and Vinny Murphy began their mission to trace the treasured toy.

But by now it was speeding North East towards Newcastle – and despite contacting the train manager on board to search under seats - there was still no sign of the missing monkey

It was only when the CrossCountry service terminated in Edinburgh, 384 miles away from where Monkey usually lives in Bristol, that he was found and taken to lost property.

Vinny and Leon at Birmingham New Street were then straight on the case to get the missing monkey back home in the arms of his three-year-old owner.

They arranged for Monkey to travel back down from Scotland to Birmingham, entrusted in the care of Avanti West Coast staff.

But before a sleepover at Birmingham New Street’s reception – there was another surprise in store for the travelling toy.

By chance a tiny, hand-knitted jumper had previously been made as a Christmas decoration – and it was the perfect fit for the AWOL ape.

So the following day, adorned in his new festive attire with a sparkly National Rail logo, Vinny made sure the very important primate swung onto a CrossCountry train to Bristol on Tuesday morning.

A delighted and relieved Kayna picked up the now exceedingly well travelled cuddly toy from Great Western Railway (GWR) staff at Bristol Temple Meads that lunchtime.

In total four different companies came to the toy’s rescue, and Monkey clocked up an extra 619 rail miles on top of what should have been a 155-mile trip home from Leicestershire to the West Country.

Kayna said: “My little boy was inconsolable when we realised we’d lost Monkey on the train and we arrived at Birmingham New Street. But the treatment we received from the customer services team there, who mounted a miracle mission to find the monkey again, was above and beyond what I could have expected.

“I can’t thank everyone involved enough, across all the train companies, for not only making my little boy smile again, but he loves monkey’s new jumper and is full of questions, fascinated by the adventure he’s been on!”

Vinny Murphy, Birmingham New Street customer services assistant, said: “It was heart-breaking to see Kayna’s little lad so upset that he’d left his best friend on the train, so it was the least we could do to get straight on the phone to try and track him down.

“We couldn’t have done this without the efforts of all the train crews scouring under seats to find him. Spotting a tiny Christmas jumper in our station reception for him to wear was then the icing on the cake! We’re so pleased we could have helped and Monkey is back home for cuddles where he belongs - in gladrags fit for the festive season.”

Elizabeth Jackson, CrossCountry interim regional customer service manager, said: “Thankfully it’s not every day we have to take teddies on our trains, but it was a pleasure to help get Monkey safely back home to Bristol. It’s been wonderful to work together with colleagues from across the industry to get this very cheeky monkey home safe and sound.”

Philippa Cresswell, Avanti West Coast executive director on board, said: “It was brilliant to see the railway family coming together to reunite Monkey with his family and get him safely back into the arms of Kayna after his very eventful journey. We were glad to play our part and the collective effort definitely deserves a round of ape-lause!”

A spokesperson for GWR said: "We at GWR have a long history of looking after long-lost bears, and reuniting cuddly toys seeking greater adventure with their worried owners.

"Our approachable and friendly staff are always on hand to help, and we are delighted we have been able to do so on this occasion."

For more information on what to do if you’ve lost something on a train you should contact your train operator.

More information can be found on the Avanti West Coast and Cross Country, websites.