In these difficult times, former professional rugby player Lee Robinson and his team at Leicester Movers & Storers thought it timely to inject a bit of humour amidst the chaos, with a look back at some of the weirdest and most memorable removals they’ve worked on in the past year.

1. A lucky sheep in Snowdonia

After loading two removals vehicles all day, the team headed over to North Wales in the early evening to the property in stunning Snowdonia. True to its name, it was snowing, so visibility was to say the least rather poor. As they were approaching the destination and careering around hill tops in blizzard-like conditions, they suddenly noticed a peculiar obstruction. As the team inched ever closer, they began to realise it was a snow-covered sheep lying in the middle of the road! One of the quick-thinking team hopped out the van and lured the hungry sheep away from the road with a handy packet of crisps taken from the dashboard.

2. A heavy stag in Warwickshire

The team had almost packed all the contents from a large stately home into the removal vans and were about to get ready to return to the depot to load the items into temporary storage. At this point, the client came out of the house and said, “Sorry, I forgot to mention this.” The team looked around as he pointed to a giant iron stag in the front garden! After a short pause someone said, “What, that? How much does it weigh?” The man replied casually, “About three quarters of a ton I reckon.”

They walked over to the statue and attempted to nudge it to test the weight, but of course there was no movement. Just as they were about to tell the owner the bad news, one of the team spotted a farmer in the field next door to the property using a forklift to move hay bales and ran over to ask if they could borrow it (luckily one of the guys was a qualified driver). Within a few minutes, the great iron stag was loaded onto the removal lorry and made ready for its journey.

3. The smelly box in North Leicester

One of the removal team was picking his way through some rubbish and attempting to pack belongings, when he came across a small box omitting a rather strong smell. On opening the box, the poor guy discovered a dead rat! As the rat was clearly long deceased, he disposed of the body and continued packing for the customer.

At the end of the day, the customer asked the team if anyone had seen a small shoe box with their pet in it. Somewhat red-faced the well-meaning culprit had to tell her that they had indeed found a dead rat but had disposed of it due to the horrible smell it was giving off. The poor lady immediately burst into tears saying that she had rescued the rat many years ago and kept it as a pet.  When it died, she’d kept it in the shoe box to remember it by.

4. The Yorkshire country mansion with no gate

After arriving at a large country house with a long narrow drive, the removal team couldn’t find the entrance to the property. There were acres of gardens and water features, and a large pond, but no sign of a gate to allow them to get the vans up to the house. The team went in search of the entrance leaving the vans as close as they could … about 200m away. There was a lot to move, and it was beginning to look like the longest day in removals history!

However, one of the overnight team was still asleep in one of the trucks and had not followed the rest of the team across the large garden.

After almost giving up, the team were making their way back when they heard a whistle. Everyone turned around and saw the man from the overnight team frantically waving and shouting, “This way lads.” He had woken up, wondered where the rest of the team were and found a hidden driveway behind an electric gate, which was covertly covered in leaves and green camouflage. The delighted team ran back to the vans and parked them right up to the front door – perfect!

Later it was discovered that the house had been subject to break-ins over the years and the owner had built a hidden gate to deter burglars.

5. The mystery of the famous Leicester footballer

The team were not given the details or name of the football player and to simply conduct removals as usual. They arrived at the property and after being let in by the player's wife began packing and loading the removal vans. Lunchtime passed and still no sign of the famous player.

They had lunch and continued with the job in hand. There were no clues as to who this mysterious star was, no shirts or photographs to give them a nudge in the right direction and satisfy their curiosity.

After finally packing up and finishing the loading, they heard a loud beeping sound. The team came out of the house and saw a Range Rover flashing its lights. One of the team went over and had a stern word with the driver, “Just give us a minute mate, we're doing a house removal, won't be too much longer!” The driver beeped again and shouted angrily, “Can you move out the way, I want to park my car!” With that the driver jumped in and moved the van to let him past.

Later, when everything was loaded the crew went back inside and asked the customer if she was happy with everything. To their surprise, in walked the man with the Range Rover. Low and behold it was none other than the famous Leicester City FC striker … we’ll leave you guessing!

Photo: Lee Robinson and members of the Leicester Movers & Storers team.