Nearly 12,500 handsets will be misplaced, stolen or broken during the Christmas party season

Nearly 12,500 handsets will be misplaced, stolen or broken as the Christmas party season reaches its peak tonight.

The rate at which mobile phones go astray has soared as people use them as cameras at boozy bashes, while an average of 10,000 are left in cabs every month.

But researchers have dubbed today the festive Friday phone fiasco, as it is this year’s most popular choice for Christmas parties – and potentially reckless behaviour.

An estimated 12,328 phones will be lost during the revelries, and with each one typically costing £80 to replace, the bill for missing phones will come to £986,301 in just one day.

The poll, by mobile phone service ShoZu, found that people in London, Manchester and Liverpool are most likely to end the evening without their mobile.