Peril for phone users aged five

Parents are putting children as young as five at risk by giving them mobile phones, experts warned. Eleven per cent of children aged five to nine now have a mobile - double the figure two years ago.

The growth comes despite Government warnings that there is greater risk of mobile radiation penetrating children's thinner skulls and causing cancer.

Teachers are also worried young children will be more vulnerable to having their phones stolen. Mobile phone makers say they do not target youngsters but many ringtones and covers featuring Winnie The Pooh and Harry Potter appeal to young consumers. Graham Brown, head of consultancy group mobileYouth, which carried out the research, said primary school children saw mobiles as giving them a status beyond their years, and offered them a chance to join the craze for text-messaging.