A Sun reporter trawled through a stream of "flirty texts" and personal photographs exchanged between a PR woman and a television celebrity after getting his hands on her stolen mobile phone, a court heard yesterday.

Ben Ashford, 35, got hold of the woman's iPhone after her handbag was stolen during a night out at the Circle Club in Manchester in the early hours of 11 October 2009, the Old Bailey heard.

Prosecutor Peter Wright QC said: "The phone contained a great deal of personal information, including the contact details and a number of very personal messages to and from two celebrities with whom she was acquainted."