POLICE have warned they will prosecute people who report lost mobile phones as stolen.

They say false allegations of theft are wasting valuable police time in fruitless investigation, and are leading to fraudulent insurance claims.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Thomson, of Newcastle Central Area Command, said: "Falsely reporting the loss of a mobile phone as theft is a criminal offence which could result in prosecution for deception and wasting police time.

"It also means that valuable police time is spent investigating these 'offences', to the obvious detriment of members of the public who do need help."

He said recent examples included a man who reported a phone stolen in a city centre.

The claim turned out to be completely untrue when closed circuit television footage was checked.

Another caller insisted his phone had been stolen, but two days later, when officers from the crime desk called the number, the owner answered.

He admitted the phone had been lost and then found, claiming he had forgotten to tell the police.

DCI Thomson said: "All officers in the city are aware of this worrying trend and will be more closely examining reports of stolen phones, including where appropriate, viewing Newcastle's extensive security camera system."