A stuffed puffer fish, human skulls, a lawnmower and a pot of bull sperm are just a few of the strange items handed in to Transport for London’s lost property office. Reporter KELLY SMALE visited the storerooms to see what has been left behind over the last 75 years.

Transport for London’s (TfL’s) lost property office on Baker Street handles almost 200,000 items a year and is one of the largest lost property offices in the UK.

Items with identification are returned to the owner in person or by post within a few days of them being handed in.

If people do not come forward to claim their property staff use their own “detective skills” to reunite items with their owners, and have even named the computer system ‘Sherlock’.

Lost property office manager Julie Haley said: “The look on customers’ faces when they get back something they thought was lost forever is very rewarding.

“The biggest surprise is when we call them without them calling us first.”

A variety of items have been left by passengers such as a prosthetic arm, a canoe, Second World War masks and a coffin.

Ms Haley said: “Reuniting two urns of ashes with the families who had lost them was particularly heart-warming. It was very emotional for all of us.

Breast implants have also been successfully returned after being left on the tube.

One of the most unusual items handed into the office was prize-winning bull sperm.

Customer service assistant Kristine Wright said: “Details from a laboratory were on the side of the pot so we rang them.

“It’s worth a lot of money but had to be destroyed because it needs to be refrigerated.”

There is a huge collection of sport equipment such as tennis rackets, footballs and cricket bats.

Ms Haley said: “We can always tell what season it is when sports equipment is left behind because the amount of tennis rackets handed in during Wimbledon increases.”

Last year the most commonly forgotten objects were books (36,852), bags (28,550) and items of clothing (27,174).

Property not claimed after three months is either donated to the Red Cross and Salvation Army or sold at auction, with revenue contributing towards the cost of running the lost property service.

Forty members of staff work at the office and deal with more than 1,000 items a day which have been left by passengers on overground and Tube trains, cabs, coaches and buses.

To report lost property call 0845 330 9882 or visit tfl.gov.uk/tfl/contact/lostproperty/default.asp

Strange items left by passengers

Prize winning bull sperm

A 14ft-long boat

A Wedding dress

False teeth

Breast implants

Canoe

Two swords

Mobile phone from 1990

Coffin (prop)

Giant stuffed toy monkey