Pickpockets are believed to be operating at the Brighton Centre.

Mobile phones have been reported stolen following gigs, which attract thousands of people to the venue.

Twelve mobile phones went missing in one night after The Prodigy played a sellout gig at the venue on Tuesday.

Patrick LeGarsmeur, of Grand Avenue, Hove, said he realised his phone had disappeared 20 minutes after the band came on stage.

He said: "We were on the outskirts but then went into the middle of the room and were bouncing around.

"I have been to gigs where there are 20,000 to 30,000 people and I have never had my phone nicked."

He spoke to a security guard who told him he would have to wait until the end of the gig before he could check the empty venue for his missing mobile.

But when the curtain came down he joined more than half a dozen others at the information desk reporting suspected thefts.

He said: "I reported it stolen after the gig and as I was standing there, about seven or eight people around me were saying their phones had been lost or stolen.

"I went straight home and got my phone blocked."

Mr LeGarsmeur, a sales executive, called Sussex Police who told him he would have to go back to the Brighton Centre.

But within half an hour an officer called him back saying that other people had also reported their phones had gone missing after the concert.

He said: "I did not see any signs to say there were pickpockets operating and it ruined what should have been a great night."

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said about a dozen phones were reported stolen after the gig.

She said: "We did have a police presence there and we will continue to work closely with the Brighton Centre.

"We will also have a presence at other concerts.

"We are training staff at the Brighton Centre so they know what to look out for and we will work with them to try to combat it.

"Last year we did make some arrests."

A Brighton Centre spokeswoman said mobile phone theft was not specific or endemic to them.

She said: "We put signs up as lots of places do where you have jostling crowds and there is the potential of phones being stolen.

"It's a problem wherever you are and it's no more unusual than when one is in a shopping mall.

"The conditions are perfect, in a way. If we catch someone doing it we will deal with them appropriately."

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