AN ACT of public-spiritedness turned to hours of frustration for a Chepstow resident who found a mobile phone.

The unnamed Good Samaritan found a mobile phone on the A48 Wye Bridge and decided to reunite phone and owner by taking it to Chepstow police station.

But they were left with the feeling that the system for handing in lost property is "totally unworkable, inefficient and positively discourages good citizenship."

The resident has asked Chepstow Town Council to put pressure on the police to change the system which was introduced when the front counter at the police station was closed to the public last summer.

In an e-mail to the council they explained that when they called to the station at 2.45pm there was no answer so they went to the Citizens' Advice Bureau who put them in touch with the police by dialling 101.

"I had to give my details and was given a report number and was required to be available at home during a four-hour time slot for an officer to collect the phone."

It was claimed the police did not arrive at the arranged time leaving the person annoyed at the situation.

The email to the town council continued: "Please could you put pressure to have some system in place so that lost property can be speedily returned to the rightful owner.

"The system currently in place and operated by the police is totally unworkable, inefficient and positively discourages good citizenship.

"I would like to be a good citizen but this incident has challenged my patience and goodwill."

They suggested that people should be able to drop off lost property at somewhere like the county council's one stop shop or the tourist information centre.

Inspector Mark Pope of Chepstow Police apologised for the inconvenience but said he could not support a drop-off point.

He said: "At this time there is an on-going project within the force that is looking at improving the way the police deal with property and I have no doubt that improvements will be made...in the near future.

"I totally understand your views on setting up some form of property drop-off point...but am reluctant to do this as it would undoubtedly cause issues around identifying members of the public who may wish to keep items if unclaimed."

The police are also unable to provide a secure drop-off point.