What do a birdcage, an oar, dentures and a crack pipe have in common?

Click here to view the graphicWell, along with a carriage clock and a motorcycle, they are among the list of thousands of items which have been handed in to police at the Bethel Street station in Norwich since 2012.

Surprised officers received the unusual items alongside the usual culprits – 743 purses and wallets, 147 passports and more than £18,000 in cash, according to figures revealed under a Freedom of Information request.

Cheque books, driving licences, watches and library cards all found homes at the station in each of the three years – along with shotgun cartridges.

A handful of car owners from Norwich might have noticed something missing after 11 licence plates were handed in, while one unlucky soul could have had a chilly night without their bedding.

A Norfolk Police spokesperson said: 'The most common things handed to police are wallets, bank cards and mobile phones, with many misplaced by people enjoying a night out in the city. More unusual items handed to police include half a set of dentures and a boat oar.

'It's always pleasing to reunite owners with property and goes to show there's still a lot of honest people in our communities.'

While police try to return goods to their rightful homes, hundreds are inevitably left at the station.

Items are kept in storage for four weeks to give owners a chance to collect them. The finders then have two weeks to claim them - although items including passports, explosives and weapons are prohibited from being handed over, along with mobile phones and cameras.

Unclaimed items will be disposed of in a variety of ways - some are sold at auction or donated to charitable schemes, while some are only suitable for waste disposal.

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