A GOVERNMENT initiative that should deter mobile phone thieves has been welcomed by police chiefs in County Durham.

The Mobile Telephones (Re-programming) Act comes into force today which should make all handsets obsolete once the victim has reported their phone lost or stolen to their network operator.

At present, thieves can change the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number contained within each handset to stop operators identifying and disabling the phone and they can then use or sell the phone.

The new Act makes it a criminal offence to change or interfere with a handset's IMEI number or supplying equipment for that purpose. The offence carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of £5,000.

By using a new shared database across the industry, it will be possible for a mobile phone to be barred across all networks once it is stolen.

Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Scott said: "Mobile phone theft has in the past few years become a major problem, although some measures taken by the industry have helped.

"The new legislation and the shared database will render a stolen handset useless to the would-be thief. This is a significant step forward and brings mobile phones into line with bank or credit cards.

"From now on, buying a second-hand phone will almost certainly be a waste of time and money."

According to research published by the Home Office in January, mobile telephones account for 28 per cent of all robberies, compared to eight per cent three years previously.