Euro 2016: Leo the Lion becomes a victim of England's clear-out operation

England's mascot was left behind by the players on Tuesday

Football Association staff have started the clear-out operation at England’s luxury Euro 2016 hotel in Chantilly, with lorries and vans loaded up with plasma screens, an over-size Three Lions badge, a table-tennis table and a giant mirror.

Roy Hodgson’s 23-man squad checked out of the Auberge de Jeu de Paume Hotel on Tuesday afternoon following their return from Nice in the wake of the humiliating second round exit at the hands of tournament minnows Iceland on Monday night.

But with the players and coaching staff all returning to England on Tuesday evening, several members of the FA’s logistics team remained behind in the sleepy French town to oversee the removal of the equipment that had been shipped out to ensure that the squad had everything at their disposal to ensure a successful campaign in France.

Despite the hotel now being empty following the departure of its high-profile guests, it remains off limits to members of the public, with removal men and security warning off a photographer for taking shots of the removal operation.

The UK-registered removal vans, which will ferry their cargo back to a unit in Staffordshire close to the National Football Centre at St George’s Park in Burton, also contained Leo the Lion, the mascot carried around by those England players chosen to fulfil a forfeit by their team-mates during the tournament.

One of the England team's three cuddly toy lions (Getty)

Leo was seen being unceremoniously shoved into the back of the van after being left behind by the players on Tuesday.