A cruise ship barman has been sacked after allegedly tricking a passenger into telling him the passcode of her husband's missing mobile phone during a game of 'Mr and Mrs'.

Paul Tierney, 54, mislaid his iPhone 7 Plus on the first morning of a week-long, £2,600 Mediterranean cruise with his wife Janet.

They believe that when crew member Suar Andika had later got his hands on it, he must have known who it belonged to because the screensaver was a photo of Mr and Mrs Tierney.

Mrs Tierney, 55, pictured with Paul above on a previous cruise, said one of the questions Andika asked her was: 'What is the passcode number to Paul's phone?' She blurted it out without thinking any harm could come of it

Without knowing the PIN, however, the smartphone was useless to Andika as he couldn't unlock it and start enjoying all of its features himself.

So when the couple visited the on-board bar he worked in, outwardly charming Andika seemingly seized the opportunity to get them to play an impromptu game of 'Mr and Mrs' with him as they chatted.

They believe that when crew member Suar Andika had later got his hands on it, he must have known who it belonged to because the screensaver was a photo of Mr and Mrs Tierney

In the popular TV quiz show of the same name, people answer questions about their other half in a test of how well they know each other.

Mrs Tierney, 55, said one of the questions Andika asked her was: 'What is the passcode number to Paul's phone?'

She blurted it out without thinking any harm could come of it.

The couple, from Kirkby, Liverpool, went on to enjoy the rest of their holiday on board the Mediterranean Shipping Company's (MSC) liner Musica, which has 1,268 passenger cabins and a crew of around 990.

But after they got home, they were left 'feeling sick' when Mr Tierney bought a new smartphone, synced it with his iCloud account to download the contacts and photos from his 'lost' phone – and saw a series of selfies and videos of Andika.

In some, the smirking barman was even wearing his cruise work uniform and name badge.

In one video he can be seen walking along a ship's corridors, and in another along a dockyard with an MSC cruise ship in the background. Another photo appears to show him smoking a vape in a bathroom.

The penny then dropped that the man the couple had considered to be a friendly crew member had hoodwinked them.

Mr Tierney, an aircraft painter, said: 'Neither of us could believe what we were seeing. It made us feel sick. He seemed like a nice guy and was very charming. But he's a despicable person. It's disgusting what he did.

'He must have known all along it was our phone – the screensaver was of the two of us.'

The couple had sailed from Brindisi, Italy, on June 1. The cruise included stop-offs at other ports in Italy as well as Croatia and Greece.

The couple, from Kirkby, Liverpool, went on to enjoy the rest of their holiday on board the Mediterranean Shipping Company's (MSC) liner Musica, which has 1,268 passenger cabins and a crew of around 990. The couple are pictured in front of a 2017 Royal Carribbean cruise

Mr Tierney was convinced he had put the phone in a safe in their cabin, but after searching for it and asking staff if it had been handed in, was unable to track it down.

MSC has apologised and sacked Andika after he was found to have the phone, which has been returned to Mr Tierney by post. He said MSC also paid for the £300 replacement which he bought on eBay.

It was not clear if Andika had admitted stealing the phone himself or if he claimed to have got it from someone else in good faith.

Yesterday an MSC spokesman said: 'Disciplinary action was taken against a male crew member who was in possession of a stolen iPhone, and he was immediately dismissed.

'MSC Cruises takes the safety and security of our passengers and crew extremely seriously.'