A staggering £750,000 worth of lost property was left in Holiday Inn hotels in the UK in 2007, the hotel's owners revealed today.
Among the strange and personal items the hotels' guests left behind were a prosthetic leg, glass eye and false teeth.
Many hotels reported a number of items which raise more questions than answers, including a blow up sheep, a monk's habit and a selection of whips.
Other extremely valuable items still unclaimed include £2,000 in cash, a £2,000 Rolex watch, a £1,000 Mont Blanc fountain pen and a £3,000 engagement ring.
Hotel managers were left bemused by other items left behind which seem to defy any explanation, like the inflatable sumo wrestler outfit, a gas stove, a bike and eight posters of Jonathan Ross.
"It never fails to amaze us the things people seem to forget to take with them - you'd imagine it would be difficult to forget a glass eye or your dentures. And you would certainly think a person would notice he didn't have his prosthetic leg when he walked out the door, but apparently not," said InterContinental Hotels Group's Chief Operating Officer UK & Ireland Alexi Hakim.
"Some of the items seem beyond explanation - and others make you wonder what goes on behind closed doors!" he said.
Holiday Inn and Express by Holiday Inn - which both belong to one of the world's largest hotel groups InterContinental Hotels Group - filled more than 8.8 million rooms in the 12 months to end-September 2007.
Region The weird and wonderful objects found but as yet unclaimed:
North East
- Glass eye
- £2,000 in cash
- Star Trek costume
North West
- Selection of whips
- Bicycle
- Selection of £400 leather jackets
Midlands
- Wooden rolling pin
- Blow up sheep
- £1,000 Mont Blanc fountain pen
South East
- Prosthetic leg
- Blow up sheep
- Monk's habit
South West
- Inflatable sumo wrestler
- Eight posters of Jonathan Ross
Greater London
- X-rays
- False teeth
- Giant Jenga game
Scotland
- Two Chinese woks
- Four 20kg dumb bells
- £600 pair of pink high heels
Wales
- £3,000 engagement ring
- Pied Piper costume
- Miniature doll's house
Northern Ireland
- Gas stove
- Home video tapes
- Dog coat