A 6ft heart made out of red roses, £3,000 worth of casino chips and a a brand new Rolex watch were some of the unusual items left at Travelodge hotels in Essex.

Travelodge’s Lost & Found offices around Essex took in items from across the brand's 11 hotels in the county.

In 2020 the following strange items were found:

• A wigwam

• Company tax returns for the year

• A child’s Range Rover

• A handcrafted dolls house

• New Rolex watch

• £3,000 worth of casino chips

• Hermes Tarot cards

• A box of valuable vinyl records

• 6ft heart made out of red roses

• A Gold Ganesha Indian God

• A diary of a nurse

• A stamp collection

Elsewhere in the UK forgetful guests left behind a R2-D2 robot, a money tree bearing £50 notes to the value of £10,000, a Cartier engagement ring and two first class tickets to the Maldives.

This year, as Travelodge kept some of its UK hotels open during both lockdowns to support key workers, local authorities and businesses that could travel for work.

The Travelodge hotel teams which are located close to hospitals reported finding a range of interesting items left behind by customers in the medical profession.

This has included a stethoscope being left behind by a doctor at High Wycombe Travelodge, a lab coat being left behind at Manchester Upper Brook Street Travelodge and a scrub set forgotten to be packed at London Central Kings Cross Travelodge.

The hotel team at Chelmsford Travelodge went the extra mile to reunite a customer who was a nurse with her precious diary that documented her professional career throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to date.

Also a large box of Union Jack printed face masks were left behind at London Central Waterloo Travelodge Plus.

This year’s audit also reveals that items associated with weddings still dominate the Travelodge lost and found bizarre inventory list.

One forgetful bridesmaid forgot to take a 3ft Italian diffuser bottle to the wedding reception venue which had been especially imported over from Florence, Italy for its bespoke fragrance of lemon, orange flowers, rose, jasmine and wood.

Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said: “With millions of customers annually staying at our 563 UK hotels including our 11 properties across Essex, we do get a range of interesting items left behind.

"This year’s audit for our Essex Travelodge hotels includes a 6ft heart made out of red roses, £3,000 worth of casino chips, a child’s Range Rover and a brand new Rolex watch.

“Interestingly, as we kept some of our hotels open during both lockdowns to support local communities and provide accommodation for key workers, local authorities and for businesses that could travel for work we have seen a rise in items being left behind by medical professionals.

"This includes a stethoscope, scrubs, crocs and a nurse’s personal diary documenting their experience of working through the pandemic plus lots of personalised face masks.

"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.”