Travelodge has released details on some of the stranger items that have been left behind in rooms during 2011, including 100 Duchess of Cambridge masks, a mock Olympic torch, a baby, and a hamster called Fredrick.
Given the hotel chain has nearly 500 branches across the UK, it’s perhaps no surprise its inventory of lost property boasts a few odd objects.
A four foot stuffed Macaw parrot was left behind in a Travelodge in Stratford-upon-Avon, while a life-size Mr Blobby costume was among the items discovered in a branch in Milton Keynes.
The mock Olympic torch was left behind in a Travelodge in Manchester. An urn containing a woman’s ashes was found in the Peterborough Travelodge, though its owner – the husband of the deceased – quickly realised their mistake and returned to collect it. He was on route to scatter the ashes at a location where the couple used to go on holiday.
Anyone wearing this should be shot on sight. No mercy
Fredrick the hamster was left behind at the Knutsford Travelodge by mistake. Its owner drove all the way home to Bristol before realising that they’d done and making a return journey.
The Duchess of Cambridge masks were left behind in the London Waterloo Travelodge after the royal wedding.
As for the baby, it was only left alone in the Winchester-Sutton Scotney Travelodge for a few minutes. The parents had been rushing to get to a wedding on time. Both thought the other had put the baby in the car. When they noticed what had happened, they hurried back to collect their 18-month son.
Travelodge says that the most popular items left behind in its rooms in 2011 were chargers for mobile phones or laptops.
All items not been claimed within three months are donated to Cancer Research UK charity shops across the UK.
Geoffrey Salter
Related stories
• The weird items hotel guests forget
• TripAdvisor names world’s top 25 hotels
• Review: Midtown Hotel & Suites, Beirut
• Top 10 most haunted hotels
• ‘Bert the Conqueror’ shocks hotel staff with ‘art’
