Teaching assistant Thomas Holdroyd, 30, who lost his £799 iPhone 8 on a night out tracked it down to Ilford police station using an app but officers say they still cannot find it
A teaching assistant who lost his £799 iPhone 8 on a night out tracked it down to his local police station using a GPS app but officers say they still cannot find it.
Thomas Holdroyd can see the mobile is somewhere inside Ilford police station thanks to Apple’s Find My iPhone app.
But the 30-year-old has now waited 11 days to get his much-needed phone back and says he’s frustrated that police are holding it hostage.
Mr Holdroyd, who works at a school in Hackney, eastLondon, joked: ‘I’m thinking about breaking into the police station to find it.’
He had been out for drinks with colleagues on February 9 when he noticed that his phone was missing.
After returning home, the 30-year-old used Apple’s Find My iPhone feature to track it down.
When the GPS system showed it was at the police station in east London, Mr Holdroyd thought his problem had been solved.
Officers contacted his flatmate through the app and told Mr Holdroyd to visit the police station on Saturday.
But on his first visit, he was rebuffed by an officer who told him to return on Monday, as the property office was closed.
On a second visit, the officer still could not produce his mobile, and Mr Holdroyd says he’s running out of options.
Bizarrely the Find My iPhone app still shows the police station as the phone’s last recorded position.
He said: ‘On my first visit, I spoke to the desk sergeant and he had a look for it.
But the 30-year-old has now waited 11 days to get his much-needed phone back and says he’s frustrated that police are holding it hostage. Mr Holdroyd, who works at a school in Hackney, east London, joked: ‘I’m thinking about breaking into the police station to find it’
‘He didn’t ask for any identification or anything, even though I had bought the receipt for it with me.
‘He showed me two phones but neither of them were mine.
‘He said that couldn’t do anything more and that I should return on Monday as the property office is only open during the week
‘I knew it was in the building as Find My iPhone showed it was the last known location of the phone.
Officers contacted his flatmate via the app and told Mr Holdroyd to visit Ilford police station on Saturday. But on his first visit, he was rebuffed and told to return on Monday, as the property office was closed. On a second and third visit, the officers still could not produce his mobile
‘When I returned, this officer was a lot more helpful. He did a lot more looking for me but still couldn’t find it.
‘He said that a phone had been handed in that just had the description of iPhone but he couldn’t find it.
‘I waited a day but didn’t hear anything so I got on the phone to the station but they still can’t find it. Now I just want my phone back.’
The Metropolitan Police declined to comment on Mr Holdroyd’s case.