HUMAN skulls and breast implants are some of the more unusual items to be handed into a Marylebone lost property office over the last 75 years.

Handling almost 200,000 items a year left behind on buses, tubes, trains, taxis or at Victoria coach station, Transport for London's lost property office in Baker Street is celebrating its 75th birthday this year.

Last year, the most commonly forgotten objects were books (36,852), bags (28,55) and items of clothing (27,174).

Over the last seven and a half decades, staff have seen several unusual items handed in, including a stuffed puffer fish and even a lawnmower.

The office takes pride in the Baker Street link to its famous fictional neighbour Sherlock Holmes, even naming the computer system staff use to log all lost items 'Sherlock'.

Staff use their own detective skills to try and reunite lost property with its rightful owner, directly contacting them if any form of identification is found with the object.

On some occasions, staff have gone a step further to return items, managing to track down the next of kin for two urns of ashes that had been in the office for years, even though there were just a few words written on them.

Office manager Julie Haley said: "It's great to be celebrating 75 years of the lost property office.

"I've been here for five years and love being reminded how honest Londoners are when they hand in lost property.

"The look on customers' faces when they get back something they thought was lost forever is very rewarding."

She added: "Reuniting two urns of ashes with the families who had lost them was particularly heart-warming - it was very emotional for us all.

"Having said that, all items are important to their owners and returning even the smallest of items can make a big difference."

The success rate for reuniting lost items with owners is one in three. Anything not claimed after three months and not containing any personal data, is either donated to charity or sold at auction, with the money going towards the running of the lost property office service.

* To find out whether the lost property office has an item, call 0845 3309882 between 8.30am and 4pm Monday to Friday, or fill in a form at www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/contact/lostproperty/default/asp .