Crop top made from train seat Covid notice ‘violates terms’

‘I have to resort to little things like this to make ends meet, to pay the bills,’ says fashion student

Mharie Thurston-Tyler, 20, fashioned a bandeau crop top from a Chiltern Railways seat cover with the message ‘Keep this seat free to maintain social distancing when possible’ (Depop Drama/Twitter)

A student who posted an advert for a crop top fashioned out of a train seat cover has been warned not to sell prohibited items on second-hand clothing app, Depop.

Mhari Thurston-Tyler, 20, made a bandeau from a Chiltern Railways seat cover that carried a message encouraging people to practice social distancing while on board their trains.

She posted an advert for the top on Depop for £15 and sold it, but later refunded her customer and removed the posting, reported the BBC.

Depop said the item “clearly violates our terms of service” as the sale of stolen goods was banned.

Ms Thurston-Tyler, a fashion student at Central Saint Martins, denied stealing the seat covers and told BBC News she found two of them “balled up on the floor” outside Marylebone station in London last September.

She said she fashioned one of the covers into a top for herself and decided to post the second one on Depop as she had been struggling to find work amid the pandemic.

“I have no money at the moment so decided to put the second one on Depop to see if anyone would buy it,” she said.

“I have to resort to little things like this to make ends meet, to pay the bills.

Ms Thurston-Tyler’s post went viral on social media after it was shared by Depop Drama’s Instagram and Twitter accounts. Depop Drama shares odd and funny adverts and messages from the app’s users and sellers and is not affiliated with Depop.

In her advert, Ms Thurston-Tyler described her item as a “social distancing crop”, adding: “Got a few of these can do different sizes.”

She said a Depop customer paid £15 for the top in an “extra small” size, but after realising she should not be making money from Chiltern Railways’ property, Ms Thurston-Tyler refunded the customer and took the advert down.

“I didn’t steal it but I understand it’s not right to sell it,” she said.

A spokesperson for Depop warned that Ms Thurston-Tyler would be banned from the app if she listed any other prohibited items.

The spokesperson said: “We explicitly prohibit the sale of illegal and unlawful content on the app, including any stolen goods.

“This item clearly violates our terms of service, but has it has been removed by the seller and is no longer for sale on the platform, we will not be taking immediate steps to ban this user.”

A spokesperson for Chiltern Railways said: “Whilst we appreciate this new take on railway memorabilia, these items are there to help customers travel with confidence and we would respectfully ask that they are left in place.”