"Can You Hear Me Now?"

Romanian police caught a female mobile phone thief by dialling the stolen phone - and hearing it ringing from her bum.

Police in Iasi stopped Petronela Brandus, 24, as she tried to get off a bus after other passengers said they saw her steal a mobile phone.

But after a search failed to find the phone, police decided to call the number to see where it was and heard a muffled ringing coming from under the woman's dress. She was taken to a local police station where a strip search by female police officers revealed she had hidden it up her bottom, local daily 7 Plus reported.

Officer Madalin Taranu said: "We've had people hiding things in their bras and knickers before, but this was a new one.

"The station doctor extracted the phone and we sprayed it with disinfectant before handing it back to its owner."

Story filed: 10:18 Tuesday 13th September 2005 on Ananova.