What does a Rowan Atkinson latex mask, two canaries called Cassandra and Clive and a unicycle have in common? They have all been found in hotels across Lancashire!

These are just some of the items left behind at Travelodge hotels last year. Also making the weird and wonderful lost and found 2022 list was a ventriloquist’s Mr Parlanchin dummy, a box of 100 Queen Elizabeth II Cypher Platinum Jubilee crowns and a vintage metal ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’ sign. The team members that work at the budget hotel chain's nine properties across Lancashire had some slightly more obscure items being forgotten by guests last year, such as an ex-wife. The day after their son’s wedding in Morecambe, an ex-wife was expecting to be picked up by her ex-husband who had offered to drive her back to her home in London. He forgot her but the hotel team were on hand to assist her to catch a train home. Another guest departed Blackburn Travelodge forgetting his birdcage and two canaries called Clive and Cassandra. Luckily, he remembered as soon as he reached the M6 and swiftly returned for his prized pets.

Travelodge spokeswoman Shakila Ahmed said: “With nearly 19 million customers annually staying at our 580 UK Travelodge hotels, including our nine hotels in Lancashire, for thousands of different reasons, we do get a range of interesting items left behind. Interestingly, the 2022 lost and found audit also revealed that we are a nation striving for a healthy lifestyle as we have seen a significant rise in smart watches being left behind in our Travelodge hotels during the last 12 months. When it comes to why so many of our customers forget their treasured items, it’s basically due to us all being time poor, juggling multiple tasks and being in a hurry to get from A to B. In the rush, valuable possessions are easily forgotten.”