AN anti-theft campaign has been launched to clamp down on mobile phone crime.

Schoolchildren in Middlesbrough were encouraged to take their phones into the classroom yesterday as part of the drive.

Police visited Ormesby Secondary School to invite youngsters to register on a national mobile phone database.

The scheme means if the handsets are stolen, phones can be returned to their rightful owner.

Letters had been sent to parents asking for their consent to sign the children up to the database.

Sergeant Glynn Bass, of the Crime Reduction Unit, said: "Last year, there was a total of 537 mobile phones stolen in the Cleveland force area. This system will ensure that any mobile phones that end up in the hands of a criminal can be traced back to the rightful owner."

A breakdown of last year's crime statistics show that 287 mobiles were stolen from vehicles, 150 during house burglaries and 100 in street crime.