Foul play as soccer players' bag stolen

Elliott Griffiths and Richard Slattery, both aged 16, left the bag near the net while they knocked about with pals at the Pitz soccer ground off Woodbourn Road, Attercliffe.

But when they returned after th game they found that the bag, containing their wallets, mobile phones and other property, had been taken.

Elliott's dad Derrick said: "We are both really angry. He'd only had the phone a few weeks and it had all his numbers stored in it.

"It's saying something when you can't leave your bag behind the goalposts while you have a game of football."

The bag was later found abandoned in nearby toilets.

Mr Griffiths, of Erskine Crescent, Arbourthorne, said he was also annoyed to discover insurance he had taken out with phone company O2 was not valid, because they said the bag had been left unattended.

"We paid 35 for cover and they say it was unattended. But at the end of the day there were people there, so it wasn't. It's just another kind of get out."

A spokeswoman for O2 said: "Theft from an unattended bag is not covered by either O2 PAYG or Pay Monthly insurance.

"The insurance company we use is very strict with the terms of the insurance, so if a customer comes to us in this situation we have to follow the rules. The insurance does cover unattended theft if the phone was on locked premises or locked in a vehicle but not when someone simply leaves it lying around."

South Yorkshire Police are investigating. Contact West Bar Crime Management Unit on 0114 2964291 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.