Sunglasses, CDs and umbrellas are among the most common things left behind in auto rental vehicles, according to IOL Motoring, but some strange items are showing up lately, in one case a false leg found in Liverpool, England.

Some of the more unusual items include a set of furry handcuffs, 50 fluorescent light bulbs, a Scottish piper's ostrich-feather hat and a (well) cooked sausage behind the engine of a car rented in Exeter.

Staff at various rental firms found designer clothing worth the equivalent of R15 000 in one car, shopping vouchers for nearly R9000 in another and £300 (R4400) in cash.

Car rental company staff in Stansted found a station wagon full of plants. They wouldn't fit in the lost-property cupboard, so until they were returned to the customer, the office looked–and smelled–like a florist.

The Liverpool England location also discovered a pair of ladies' white shoes under the passenger seat of a car returned by a regular customer. They rang his home but his wife said the shoes weren't hers.

The staff explained they'd probably been left by a previous customer, according to IOL Motoring.