Europcar's lost property reveals the secret life of its hire cars

Europcar the leader in car hire services in Europe for business and leisure users, hires out thousands of vehicles every day. But the variety of weird and wonderful items left by customers never fails to puzzle Europcar staff.

Unsurprisingly, sunglasses, CDs and loose change are the most common items left in Europcar vehicles. However, some customers carry more intriguing cargo when they travel, as Europcar’s lost property department has recently reported. Some of the more unusual items found in Europcar vehicles include 30 plants, two 6x10 ft. oil paintings, a live mouse in a cage, hedge trimmer and ashes in an urn.

The urn of ashes was found when a vehicle was returned by a car hire at Belfast airport customer. The ashes of the customer's mother had been brought over from South Africa and the customer was relieved to have them back so that she could scatter them at her mother's birth place.

And all the glasses that go unclaimed are recycled as part of Europcar's 'Go Green' pledge.

Perhaps the best item was left behind by a car hire in Blackpool customer. It was a life-size dummy, dressed as an old lady and left in the boot of a Ford Focus. The Europcar driver had the fright of his life when he thought he’d found a body.

"Judging from our lost property, our vehicles have a tale to tell," said Ken McCall, Managing Director, Europcar UK Group. "But our staff always go out of their way to reunite our customers with their forgotten items, no matter how bizarre."

Europcar is the leader in car rental services in Europe. Present in 140 countries, the company provides customers with access to the world's largest vehicle rental network through its own operations, franchisees and partnerships. With 6,500 employees committed to delivering customer satisfaction and an average fleet of 190,000 vehicles, Europcar is conscious of its corporate citizenship responsibilities. Winner of the first World Travel Award recognizing the World's Leading Green Transport Solutions Company, Europcar also was honoured with the Award in 2010 and 2011. Europcar is owned by Eurazeo.

For more information: www.europcar.co.uk