POLICE in Burnley are hoping to reduce the number of violent street robberies after smashing an illegal mobile phone ring.

Officers in Pennine Division raided an unnamed Burnley business and recovered machines used to unlock stolen handsets, barred by networks.

They hope criminals will now be less likely to take handsets because they will be unable to convert them for use.

Officers believe, in turn, the discovery will lead to a reduction in the number of street robberies in East Lancashire.

New legislation introduced last October made it illegal to possess equipment that can change stolen mobile telephones, or to advertise the equipment or sell it.

DS Derek Jones, a member of Burnley's pro-active policing team that targets street crime offenders said: "This legislation was not just brought in to make the machines useless, it was brought in to try to stop street robberies.

"It removes the value of mobiles to the people who rob them. Just one of these machines can make hundreds of telephones reusable, and they last forever.

"That feeds the demand for stolen mobile telephones and this will hopefully have an impact on street crime."

DS Jones said the Government had put pressure on mobile telephone companies to make it harder for people to re-use stolen mobiles.

He said: "The five main companies now have a national database and if a mobile is reported stolen it goes on the database and is barred.

"But it is still not an offence to unlock a phone from a specific network. People have made these devices that will unlock a barred telephone so that it is rendered usable again."

A haul of machines was been recovered during the raid, including 11 international mobile equipment identity changers.

A 26-year-old man from Padiham was arrested and has been charged with offences under new powers given to the police to prevent the IMEI machines being sold or advertised.

He is due to appear before magistrates in Burnley on Friday, January 24. The appliances can sell on the black market for as little as £80, but criminals can charge up to £30 to convert stolen phones into usable handsets.

The maximum sentence the court allows for selling, providing or advertising IMEI numbers is five years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

John Allwood, executive vice-president of Orange UK, said: "While we urge our customers to guard their phones as closely as they would a credit card, we are doing all we can to safeguard our customers against crime.

"Orange UK remains committed to the government's objective to reduce crime."