A GROUP of teenage friends was held up at knifepoint by two men who demanded they hand over their mobile phones.

About 20 teenagers aged around 15 from Corsham School were gathered at Hatton Way fields on Friday evening when the two robbers appeared.

The youngsters saw that one of the men was holding a knife, so six of them followed their demand to hand over their phones.

Corsham School pupil Jade Foster, 14, said some of her friends were robbed. "They said these two men just appeared out of nowhere out of the bushes," she said. "The men said something like 'give us your phones or we will mug you', so some of them handed their phones to them."

Police arrived at the scene at 11.30pm after one of the group raised the alarm. It is estimated the stolen phones were worth £300 in total.

A spokesman said that mobile phone thefts were on the increase across Wiltshire. Young people are particularly vulnerable because the phones were a fashion item.

"They always want to have the latest phones and these are very desirable to thieves as they can be sold easily," said PC Fortune.

Both the thieves were white. One was about 19 or 20, 6ft 1ins, with light-brown short hair, gelled at the front.

The second man was in his late 20s or early 30s and 5ft 6ins. He had stubble and shaved blond hair and was well built. He had a Scottish accent.