The alarm was raised at the weekend when a body was reported among rubbish at the rear of a shop in London Road, Brighton.
Staff reported seeing feet and arms sticking out from behind bin bags and boxes. One said: "The body was lifeless."
Police were checking when the body suddenly got up and walked away.
It turned out to be a homeless man who had gone into the rubbish to keep warm while he slept.
Earlier, police were called in after the discovery of a skull.
Detectives examined the find at the Downs Crematorium in Bear Road, Brighton, and determined the skull was from a teaching skeleton and had probably been stolen in a burglary and dumped.
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