“You would think someone would be missing their boat!”

Those were the words of Highways Agency traffic officer Cat Martin who found the abandoned vessel a long way from open water on the side of the A52 in Leicestershire.

The boat was one of the more bizarre items among the 3,708 objects recovered from the side of motorways and A roads by officers in the region.

The strange roadside discoveries have been highlighted by the Highways Agency as part of a campaign urging motorists not to use the roadside as a dumping ground.

The boat was discovered on the side of the A42 near Measham, Leicestershire in July.

Cat Martin was with fellow officer Dave Wilkinson when she discovered the abandoned boat on top of a damaged trailer.

“It was a surprise to see something of this size on the side of a slip road,” she said.

“It was causing a distraction and obstruction to drivers. It’s fortunate it did not cause a serious accident.

“We were unable to locate the owner and so it made its way to the scrapyard as soon as we could get it safely removed.”

More than 49,000 objects were collected in total across the UK by National Highways between January 1 and September 30.

In November, an officer managed to help remove a fairground ride dumped by the side of the the M180 near Scunthorpe after spotting Mickey Mouse’s ears poking out from behind some trees.

Andrew Richards, the traffic officer involved, said: “Earlier in the year, my wife and I had been to Disney World and I thought I was either having flashbacks of meeting Mickey or he’s followed me when I spotted his grin and ears peeping out behind the trees.”

“You don’t expect to find Mickey Mouse down a banking off the M180”

National Highways say traffic officers often have to close lanes or carriageways to remove large items and experience first-hand the negative impact obstructions can have on drivers and their safety.

In the East Midlands, most of the items picked up by National Highways this year were vehicles parts or accessories with 848 found in total, followed by 742 building or construction materials and 441 tyres.

A sofa, storage container, Christmas trees and bikes are among other obstructions and shed loads rescued by traffic officers directly from the carriageways.

The statistics do not include the many thousands of pieces of litter and food waste that are discarded alongside the network each year.

Marie Biddulph, Regional Safety Programme Manager at National Highways, said: “These items left on or alongside our roads can put drivers at risk, while retrieving them often leads to a road or lanes being closed, causing an inconvenience to other motorists.

“Our message is simple – dispose of your unwanted items in the correct way and secure your loads properly before you set out on your journey. Following these measures could prevent a collision and avoids unwelcome objects from blighting the environment along our roadsides.”