Richard Branson pushes Virgin Train team to invent 'Teddy Tracker' device
Richard Branson congratulated his Virgin Trains team for brainstorming a solution for toys lost on train journeys.
This comes after after a child tweeted the billionaire pleading for the safe return of his cuddly toy dog.
Although the teddy, called Rufus, was later found by the boy’s neighbour, and not on the train, Virgin created the ‘Teddy Tracker’ to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening.
@richardbranson @VirginTrains #bringrufushome left on the train today - we are desperate for his safe return pic.twitter.com/xgf0r3prUj
— Jo mcaffery (@Joxocube) June 8, 2014
Virgin’s ‘invention’ turned out to be a cutesy label upon which an owner’s name and contact details could be written. This would ensure that those who find lost teddies – and other toys – could tweet Virgin Trains at ‘#teddytracker’ to ensure their return.
Richard Branson said: “As anyone who has young children will know, losing a favourite toy can be heart-breaking, and we know it can often ruin a family day out.
“We were so touched by the message from Ted’s mother that our staff have been working hard to come up with a solution. And that’s when we had the idea of creating a tracker that you can tie onto your teddy."
The Virgin Trains Teddy Tracker will be available UK-wide on all routes from today.