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The Central and Piccadilly lines are the worst on the London Underground for pickpocketing and theft offences, police figures show.

The number of thefts on the Tube has risen by more than a third in the past two years, according to the data, with passengers suffering more than 5,000 offences in the last 12 months.

Saturday is the most common day for pickpockets to strike, while thieves are most likely to operate between 6pm and 7pm.

The Night Tube is the safest time to travel to avoid thieves, with 435 cases of theft between midnight and 5am.

The British Transport Police figures, obtained by insurer Policy Expert, show a total of 5,153 thefts committed between August last year and this July, a 35 per cent increase on 2015/16.

The lines that saw the most reported thefts were the Central and Piccadilly, both accounting for about 17 per cent of offences. Fourteen per cent took place on the Victoria line, while the Circle and the Metropolitan lines were the least targeted by thieves.

The figures also show the worst months for pickpocketing were March and December. Passengers aged between 25 and 34 were the most targeted, while women were 1.4 times more likely to be victims than men.

Singer Katie Holmes-Smith, 34, had her iPhone stolen by professional thieves as she travelled on the Victoria line to Oxford Circus last year.

She said: “I was sitting down and holding my phone in my hand. I noticed there were two men standing next to me. When I got to my stop I slipped the phone in my pocket and stood up to get off. One of the guys bumped into me and I thought he was just keen to get into my seat.”

The session singer, who has performed with stars like Adele, Kylie Minogue and Leona Lewis, added: “As I got on the escalator I suddenly had this feeling and tapped my pocket and felt my phone was not there. They were obviously professionals.”

Organised gangs of pickpockets are known to operate on the Underground, often arriving for the “summer season”. In 2016, 11 members of a gang were jailed for a total of 30 years after amassing more than £5 million stealing mobile phones. They worked strict “office hours” between 2pm and 10pm, raking in almost £10,000 a day.

Adam Powell from Policy Expert said: “Thieves usually use distraction tactics ... the Tube can be a busy place, so it’s important to ensure that you’re not a target.”

Chief Superintendent Martin Fry, from the Transport Police, said the force use a range of tactics to deter criminals, including plainclothes officers.