A Melbourne op shop worker discovered an unusual donation when he came across a box containing a woman’s ashes.

The wooden box was donated this week to the Sacred Heart Mission op shop in St Kilda.

Mission spokeswoman Marika Fengler said it appeared to have been donated by accident and the organisation was keen to return to ashes to the family.

“We don’t know if it came in with anything else,” Ms Fengler said.

“When the staff member started to look through the pile of donations, there was a box there.

“This is the strangest donation he’s ever seen.”

The box has the name Margot Aspinall printed on it.

Ms Fengler said the op shop had attempted to track down the woman’s family via a death notices search, but they hadn’t had any luck.

“We would love to reunite the ashes with the family,” she said.

She urged anybody who recognised the name to contact Sacred Heart Mission on (03) 9537 1166.