A University of Brighton student who was told to leave her halls at the start of lockdown returned five months later to discover that all of her belongings had been thrown away.
Hannah Mullins and two friends made appointments to collect their items, only to find that they had been binned by the privately run halls, the BBC reported.
Kaplan Student Living Scheme said the rooms had been cleaned by mistake.
Ms Mullins was made to leave halls after the coronavirus lockdown began, and returned home to London with only a backpack.
When she arrived back in halls on Thursday with her mum and her twin sister Holly they assumed her room was empty because her things were in storage.
Instead staff told them to check the bins.
"We went to reception to ask where it all was, they didn't know", Holly said.
"They told us to check the bins because rooms started being cleared on Monday."
The Mullins' found piles of student's belongings in the bins, including passports and private documents, but nothing belonging to Hannah.
Hannah Mullins said: "It was distressing, I felt violated. A lot of stuff can be replaced but they can't compensate for the emotional distress they've put me through."
A spokesperson from Kaplan Living Brighton offered their sincere apologies, adding that they would compensate the students for the loss of any items.
