Brighton is UK's number one hotspot for phone theft

Be careful using your mobile in Brighton - you're more likely to have it stolen in the seaside resort than anywhere else in Britain.

A survey of insurance claims found that phone users in Brighton were 4.4 times more likely to have their phones stolen than the national average.

Manchester, Leicester, Belfast and London are also hotspots for mobile theft, placing next-highest in descending order after Brighton.

Police figures suggest that up to 300,000 phones are stolen in the UK every year.

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The rise of smartphones, with resale value of up to £600 for a new iPhone, has meant that phone theft has become one of the most-reported crimes in the UK.

Women are more slightly more likely to have phones stolen than men, with 53% of claims from women,

The data is based on claims to phone insurer Protectyourbubble.com, compared to a national average.

Edinburgh, Hull and SUnderland are all below average.

The figures may not be an accurate reflection of the total amount of mobile phone crime - only around a third of users insure their phone, according to Protectyourbubble's figures.

Stephen Ebbett, director of Protectyourbubble.com, says: “Mobile phones are easy pickings for thieves who know that people talking or messaging are distracted and unaware of what’s going on around them.

"A big concern is that claims from people who have had phones snatched by thieves that have mounted the pavement on bicycles and motorcycles are growing.

“Being a victim of mobile phone crime can be distressing, inconvenient and the phone expensive to replace, particularly smartphones which can cost upwards of £400."

A chart of the UK's worst hotspots for mobile theft is below.