TV presenter and model Alexa Chung told how she clung on to her phone after being targeted by a thief in east London.
Chung was desperate not to let the criminal snatch her handset because she was involved in a gripping conversation at the time.
Speaking to podcast host Isaac Hindin-Miller, the 42-year-old said: “Someone tried to nick one off me the other day, but I refused to let them have it.
“I was in the middle of a group chat and it was really fascinating.
“I literally tight-gripped it and was like, ‘F*** you!”
Chung and Holly Willoughby have both modelled for Marks and Spencer.
Her defiant stance comes as London remains Europe’s phone snatch capital with 80,000 devices stolen last year – one every six minutes.
Former tennis star Annabel Croft, 59, had her handset taken “clean out of her hands” by a masked thief on a bicycle outside King’s Cross station.
Socialite Lady Victoria Hervey, 49, was left shaken after being mugged for mobile phone in Pimlico by an e-bike rider.
Emmy Award winning actress Susan Hampshire, 88, had her phone and purse robbed on the London Underground.
Ex-Bond girl Rosamund Pike, 46, was punched in the face for her mobile during a terrifying mugging.
Former Coronation Street actor Kym Marsh, 49, has also shared her experience of having a device ripped form her hands while walking down Buckingham Palace Road.
Bridgerton actress Genevieve Chenneour, 27, spoke of how she was left “severely agoraphobic” and unable to leave home following a phone theft that turned violent on Kensington High Street.
I’m A Celebrity star Seann Walsh, 39, and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, also fell victim.
Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway, 58, spoke of her “shock” after her mobile phone was stolen from her bag in London.
Last month, the Metropolitan Police disrupted an international network suspected of smuggling 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China over the past 12 months.
The force launched Operation Echosteep in December 2024 after a box containing about 1,000 iPhones being shipped to Hong Kong was found at a warehouse near Heathrow.
Police are calling on the mobile phone industry to assist authorities by making it impossible for smugglers to use stolen phones.
They specifically targeted Apple products because of their profitability overseas, with street thieves being paid up to £300 per handset and stolen devices being sold for up to 5,000 dollars (£3,711) in China.
Commander Andrew Featherstone, the Met’s lead for tackling phone theft, said: “We’ve dismantled criminal networks at every level, from street-level thieves to international organised crime groups exporting tens of thousands of stolen devices each year.
“Londoners deserve to feel safe.
“We’ve shown how serious we are about tackling this issue, but we need more help from the industry.
“We’re calling on phone manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung to do more to support us and protect their customers — especially around phone security and re-use.”
