The UK government is pledging to crack down on phone thefts, with the Home Office to host an upcoming summit with tech companies and manufacturers.

Phone “snatch thefts” have soared by more than 150% in the last year, with an estimated 78,000 people in England and Wales alone having their phones or bags grabbed from them on the streets.

Policing intelligence suggests that on-street thefts are being driven by an increased demand for second-hand smartphones, both in the UK itself and overseas.

To help tackle these escalating rates, tech companies and manufacturers will be called to attend a Home Office summit on the issue, looking at new ways to combat it and build on the anti-theft smartphone features that some firms have already rolled out.

Further, Operation Opal, the national police intelligence unit, will launch an intelligence probe to gather intel on the criminals who steal mobile phones, and where these devices end up.

The government said that this will help provide a stronger picture of the stolen mobile phone market, and identify what more needs to be done to tackle the problem.

Speaking on the issue and the possible interventions, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “With new phones coming to market and young people going back to school and university, many of us will have a new phone in our hands at this time of year.

“These figures are troubling and the government is determined to do whatever’s necessary to protect people entitled to walk the streets without the threat of robbery.

Johnson added: “Phone companies must ensure that any stolen phones can be quickly, easily and permanently disabled, rather than re-registered for sale on the second-hand market, and we will be meeting them soon to discuss what further action is required to make that happen.

“If we work together, government, tech companies and law enforcement can break the business model of the phone thieves and moped gangs who rely on this trade.”

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New Home Office analysis, commissioned by concerned ministers, has revealed eye-opening statistics concerning snatch thefts in England and Wales specifically.

Crime Survey estimates for the last 12 months indicate the equivalent of more than 200 snatch thefts happen every day on streets across England and Wales. This is the highest rate in more than a decade, and nearly 60% higher than the annual average since 2012 to 2013.

What’s more, the latest published estimates for England and Wales show that, in the past year, over one third (36%) of theft offences involved theft of a mobile phone.