The tradition of popping down to the police station with the wallet, umbrella or phone you have just found is about to end.

Police will soon refuse to take in such items, telling people to turn to Facebook and Twitter instead.

As of next month, stations will turn away people who turn up with the range of mislaid possessions.

The county’s force says reuniting lost goods with their owners is “not a police matter” any more.

Its decision has infuriated critics who say it “flies in the face of community spirit”.

Police spokesman Adam Westgarth confirmed the new policy will be adopted by stations across Kent in the coming weeks.

He said: “Lost property is not a police matter and from June, we will only accept recovered property which poses a risk to the public, such as identification, firearms and items believed to be associated with crime.

“People who find lost property are advised to take reasonable steps to reunite it with its rightful owner, such as advertising its discovery on social media and putting posters up in the area it was found.”

The police website gives advice on what people should do if they lose anything, including retracing their steps and contacting any premises they visited to see
if the item was handed in.

The decision has been criticised by the TaxPayers’ Alliance who claim the “madness” flies in the face of good community spirit, which it says the police should be encouraging.

Chief executive Jonathan Isaby said: “Taxpayers will be livid. Handing something, occasionally a very valuable something, into the police is a wonderful example of good-natured community spirit, and for the force to discourage that is madness.

“The police are the first port of call for people who have lost treasured items, and it will be devastating for individuals to know that a wedding ring or a wallet could have been handed in and reunited with them, but that officers refused to accept it.”