VICIOUS thugs kicked a young girl and pushed her into a river after she refused to hand over her mobile phone during a violent robbery in Burnley.

Police have warned youngsters to be on their guard following the attack on the 12-year-old who was with friends at the picnic site in Towneley Park.

The incident happened at about 8.15pm on Wednesday when the girl was approached by a gang of around 10 teenagers.

One of the gang demanded she hand over her mobile phone and when she refused he snatched it from her while the rest of the group set about her kicking her before pushing her into the shallow river.

The youngster was left shocked and with bruises.

The gang ran off towards Todmorden Road. One of them was described as white, 13 years, skinny, with short curly ginger hair and freckles, wearing blue tracksuit bottoms and silver and grey Rockport boots.

Det Sgt Steve Mounsey, of Burnley CID, said: "This was a particularly nasty offence and thankfully the young girl was not hurt seriously.

"We would appeal for anyone with information to get in touch with us at Burnley CID on 01282 472240 or free and in confidence through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."

The robbery prompted a call from police to urge young people to look after their mobile phones and not make it easy for thieves to take them.

Crime prevention officer PC Dave Sykes said: "Phones should not be carried on easy show either in bags or in people's hands where they can be snatched quite easily.

"We would also advise people to get their phones marked with an ultra violet postcode which makes a stolen phone easy to trace."

In a bid to reduce mobile phone crime, the police have also teamed up with phone stores in East Lancashire to provide a free ultra violet coding mark on phones.

Under the scheme anyone can go into designated shops and some police surgeries and have their phones security marked, making tracing mobile phone owners easier.

All police officers carry ultra violet pens so they can check on the spot whether a phone is stolen.

New legislation introduced last October made it illegal to possess equipment that can change stolen mobile telephones, or to advertise the equipment or sell it.

The five main companies now have a national database and if a mobile is reported stolen it goes on the database and is barred.

But it is still not an offence to unlock a phone from a specific network. People have made these devices that will unlock a barred telephone so that it is rendered usable again.

The appliances can sell on the black market for as little as £80, but criminals can charge up to £30 to convert stolen phones into usable handsets.

The maximum sentence the court allows for selling, providing or advertising IMEI numbers is five years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.