A thief in China painstakingly wrote out 11 pages of telephone numbers from a stolen iPhone and sent them to the owner, state media says.

The pickpocket is believed to have taken the phonefrom Zou Bin when they shared a taxi.

Mr Zou had nearly 1000 contact numbers in the device and with no backup copy and he was very concerned about losing the data, more than the phone itself.

"I know you are the man who sat beside me. I can assure you that I will find you," he said in a text message to the thief.

"Look through the contact numbers in my mobile and you will know what trade I am in," he added. "Send me back the phone to the address below if you are sensible."

The tone of the message was unmistakably threatening - Mr Zou works in the pub industry, which in China is widely held to have links with gangs.

To his amazement, days later he received a parcel containing his SIM card and 11 pages of carefully handwritten contact numbers!