NEW statistics suggest phone theft is on the rise in Worcester.

Get Phone Repairs has revealed that the number of phone thefts in Worcester has risen by 27 per cent since 2021.

A total of 124 phones were reported stolen within the city in 2022, which the organisation claimed is worth £44,020.

The figures showed a slump in phone thefts, where Worcester reached a five-year low in 2021 with 74 incidents.

However, the average has begun to rise again in the past year.

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Inspector Tanya Beckett said she thinks the fall was due to covid restrictions, and once they eased, figures have risen as a result.

Ryan Leston, founder of Get Phone Repairs, said: "Thousands of mobile phones are stolen in cities across the country, most commonly through pickpocketing and table surfing.

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"Police forces all over the country are backing local initiatives to tackle this rising crime, but the best way to avoid being part of our stats is to take preventative measures.

"Avoid using your mobile in crowded areas, and you’ll stand a much better chance of hanging onto it.

"Thieves are far more likely to target people they know have high-end devices. So, keep your smartphone out of sight.” 

Get Phone Repairs used a Freedom of Information requests to West Mercia Police to get the information. 

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On average, it calculated 0.3 phones were stolen in Worcester every day, and one in 838 Worcester residents had a phone stolen in 2022.

Insp Beckett said: “We saw a fall in the number of recorded phone thefts during lockdown (2020 to 2021).

"Based on the report these figures rose as we came out Covid restriction."

Get Phone Repairs said it used the numbers of recorded incidents where at least 1 phone was stolen and added the actual number of stolen phones could be even higher due to incidents involving multiple handsets.

It used the average value of £355 per phone to calculate the total value of stolen phones.