Shoppers warned over rise in theft of mobile phones

THIEVES steal more mobile phones at Christmas than at any time of the year, shoppers were warned yesterday.

With latest figures showing that more than 3.5 million people own a mobile phone, the market for stolen handsets is also on the rise.

Although official figures are not available, the Irish Cellular Industry Association (ICIA) estimates that tens of thousands of handsets are stolen or lost each year.