A survey of Europcar’s branches has revealed some strange excuses for damage as well as rather unusual items of lost property.

As you would expect, sunglasses, CDs, mobile phones and keys are among the most common items left in Europcar’s vehicles.

But sometimes odd items turn up ranging from a mannequin to 50 fluorescent light bulbs and a Scottish Piper’s black ostrich hat.

As well as these strange items, its customers have also been known to leave more valuable goods, with one customer leaving £1,000 worth of designer clothes in the boot of a car.

Other items have included: a false leg; furry handcuffs; a wheelchair; 10 odd pairs of shoes; and half a pint of beer with a CD called ‘The Art of Speed Seduction’.

Meanwhile, damage to vehicles can be a regular occurrence, but when Europcar staff noticed a large chunk was missing from a bumper they weren’t expecting it to involve a lion.

The customer explained they had visited Longleat Safari Park and driven through the lion’s enclosure where one had taken off a part of the bumper with his claws.

“There’s never a dull day in the life of a hire car as some of these stories and items of lost property reveal,” explained Catriona Lougher, marketing director for Europcar.