OLYMPIAN Robyn Lorraway’s priceless Olympic torch was handed into the Belconnen police station this afternoon by a member of the public who found it.

The torch was lost when a friend of the Olympian accidentally drove away with it on the roof of her car on Monday night.

Lorraway competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, in track and field events, and carried the Olympic flame in the torch relay leading up to the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

She lent the torch to a family friend to show the primary school class she teaches, but the friend made the same unfortunate mistake many busy commuters have made before, usually with more common items like cups of coffee, wallets or handbags.

“It’s an honest mistake; a lot of people may have placed something on top of the car and driven off before realising,” the Olympian says.

“In this case, it’s an item that carries a lot of sentimental significance for me.”

The accident happened around 6pm on Monday, and the torch is thought to have fallen off the car somewhere along Mabo Boulevard, Bonner, between Elia Ware Crescent and Bonner Shops.