A National Express Coach
Police are appealing for information after a large amount of money stored in luggage went missing from a National Express coach yesterday (Tuesday, October 18).
£70,000 in Australian dollars and Thai baht was in a large black holdall style bag stored in the hold of the coach by the owner, a man in his 80s, who was travelling from London Heathrow airport to The Hard in Portsmouth.
The coach left Heathrow at 4.45pm, stopping at Winchester by King Alfred’s statue around 6.30pm, Southampton Coach station about 7.15pm, shortly followed by Southampton University, before arriving at The Hard in Portsmouth around 8pm. When the man looked in the hold for his bag with the driver of the coach it was missing.
The man had brought the money over from his home in Thailand with a view to purchasing a property in the UK.
PC Leigh Waller of Portsmouth Central police station said: “We would like to hear from anyone who was on the coach, to eliminate them from our investigation, or from anyone else who may have been at any of the stopping points at the relevant times.
“In case the bag has been stolen, we’d also like alert shopkeepers and bankers to the possibility that the thief may try to change a large quantity of Australian dollars or Thai baht into UK currency in the near future.”
Anyone with information should contact PC Waller at Portsmouth Central police station on 101 or the anonymous Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111. Minicom users should contact 01962 875000.
