'Stolen' property often just lost

People could be prosecuted for wrongly claiming items had been stolen

People returning from a night out have been urged to check that any missing belongings really have been stolen before calling the police.

Officers in the West Midlands said they had seen a significant rise in items like mobile phones and purses being stolen from pubs and clubs.

However, they said that in many cases the items had just been drunkenly left behind.

Police said they would prosecute anyone found knowingly misleading them.

Officers said other items including glasses, passports and work security cards were often found by cleaners at pubs and clubs.

Det Ch Insp Sue Southern, of West Midlands Police, said: "We've seen a 35% increase in people reporting that they had property stolen from them while they have been on a night out.

"Actually, a lot of property has not been stolen, it's been lost and they not made any reasonable effort to retrace their steps and go back and ask if any of that property has been handed in."

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Hundreds of items are lost on a weekly basis