STAFF were left stunned after thieves stole two £440 mobile phones in front of them.

They unscrewed the Apple iPhones and fixed dummy handsets in their place.

The likeness was so good, staff at Vodafone, in Market Way, Blackburn, did not notice the difference for several days.

PC Scott Boast said the men went into the busy shop and stood either side of the Apple iPhone display.

They replaced the fully-functional display phones with identical dummy phones, thought to have been imported from the Far East.

PC Boast said: “The staff were busy with customers and the men must have used specialist screwdrivers to unscrew the display phones and attach their dummy ones.

“Apple are the only mobile phone provider to have actual working phones on display so that potential customers can practice using the interface.

“When I spoke to them, they told me they don’t even make dummies such as those used in this crime, so the offenders must have imported them specifically to use for such an offence.”

Police said Vodafone store manager Shahid Ali phoned them on Tuesday when he realised the switch, which happened at around 1.30pm on Saturday.

The Lancashire Telegraph has compared the two handsets and the subtle differences include an engraved Apple logo on the reverse of the fake phone as well as a slightly different camera lens and button.

They are exactly the same size, weight and overall appearance.

Once staff at the Vodafone shop had realised what had happened, they contacted other stores in the north west to warn them.

Their store in Blackpool had also been hit three hours earlier on Saturday and police said the two men were responsible for both thefts.

PC Boast said both of the men stole a phone from the display.

He said: “We have not come across a theft like this before.

“Apple themselves have told me they don’t even make dummies of their iPhones, which shows how sophisticated this is.

“We are studying CCTV from the Blackburn shop, the Blackpool store and from other sources.

“We would appeal to anyone who may have any information or who may recognise the men in these photographs.”

The men police want to speak to in connection with the theft are both white and in their 30s.

One is six foot tall, of big build with a bald head, the second man is slightly smaller and of slimmer build, with dark hair.

No-one at the shop was available for comment.