Gunmen blamed for passport losses

28/04/2011

Brazilian gunmen are among the reasons given by people for losing their passports, officials have revealed.

Other unusual reasons given for the loss of the vital documents include them having fallen from bags on snow-covered mountains and donations to the homeless.

Nearly 300,000 UK passports need to be replaced each year, said the Identity and Passport Service (IPS).

Of these, 162,500 go to men and 112,000 to women - each costing at least £77.50.

One Briton said their passport was taken when their taxi was attacked by a gunman while on the way to an airport in Brazil. Others fell out of bags while the owners were snowboarding, were left in the pocket of a coat donated to the homeless, or went up in flames after being left in old clothes set on fire.

One passport was destroyed by a drunk boyfriend, "now ex", while another was put in the bin by an infant daughter.

Sarah Rapson, IPS chief executive, said: "Your passport is not only increasingly attractive to fraudsters, but it will cost you at least £77.50 to replace, so it's really important that you keep it safe both when you are at home and when you're abroad."