A thief has admitted stealing more than £15,000 worth of mobile phones in one night from revellers in bars across Shoreditch.

Peter Abel Ogunsakin, 45, of Stockwell Gardens Estate, Lambeth, was found with four mobile phones - one with a brightly coloured cover with a woman's name on it - when he failed to stop for police in a routine traffic stop on April 6.

He told cops he had bought two phones for cash on the street from a stranger, and that he didn't have a receipt.

Ogunsakin was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods, and a search of his car revealed a further 18 mobiles hidden in the front passenger footwell underneath a loose fitting car mat, and another one on the back seat.

An investigation found that that one of the phones had been stolen from a woman in a Shoreditch nightclub in the early hours that morning.

Ogunsakin claimed a "friend of a friend", whose name he didn't know, had left the phones in his car while he ate a kebab in his car. He told police he had been to an Aldgate nightclub and a kebab shop near London Bridge, and that he hadn't been anywhere near Shoreditch.

But officers traced 17 victims whose phones had been stolen that night from their pocket or handbag in five diffferent nightclubs and bars in Shoreditch. When they viewed CCTV from each of the five venues, Ogunsakin was caught on film at four of them - disproving his alibi.

One venue operates a "scanning system" where customers must have photographic ID documents scanned to gain entry, and Ogunsakin's driving licence was scanned just before 2am.

Ogunsakin pleaded guilty to 17 counts of theft and one count of handling stolen goods at Inner London Crown Court on Monday, and will be sentenced at the same court later this year.

Pc Barry Ward said: "I am delighted the overwhelming evidence collected in this investigation by my team resulted in Ogunsakin pleading guilty. It is extremely rewarding to know the enquiries we carried out enabled us to return more than £15,000 worth of stolen mobile phones to 17 victims.

"Many of the phones had priceless photographs on them the victims' may have never been able to retrieve.

"Ogunsakin went out that night on a pick-pocketing spree, and he did not care about the upset his actions would cause the victims.

"This case should act as a reminder to revellers to be aware of their surroundings whilst they are enjoying a night out."