Police seized stolen mobile phones and a suspected 'ID changing' computer system during a raid on a Bradford shop.

Officers swooped on Rainbow Video in Little Horton Lane as part of an ongoing campaign against street robberies in the area. Advertising boards outside the shop said it offered cash for mobile phones.

The store's owner was arrested and more than 40 second-hand handsets recovered along with an inter-linking computer system. Officers said they believe this may have been used to change the anti-theft pin numbers of mobile phones.

Sergeant Keith Dobson, who co-ordinated yesterday's operation, said that a study of the scene showed that at least three of the 40 second-hand handsets on show were stolen.

He said: "After checking the unique identification numbers and finding three phones which were stolen, officers seized all the stock and the owner was arrested."

He added: "Also in the shop was a computer system with leads coming from it which can be seen to fit the phones.

"The suspicion is that the computer equipment could be directly linked to putting in new phone identities and changing the pin code."

Yesterday's operation formed part of West Yorkshire Police's Target initiative - the force's biggest ever crackdown on crime. Sgt Dobson said: "This is a small part of a bigger picture across the country in the robbery of mobile phones where people receiving then is to the detriment of law abiding citizens who are buying phones and having them taken."

Police chiefs have identified a problem with street robberies in the Little Horton and Canterbury areas, particularly where mobile phones have been the target.

As reported in the Telegraph & Argus, official crime statistics showed that robberies had leapt by 68 per cent in the Bradford district over the past year.

l A 20-year-old man has been released on police bail pending further enquiries.