Hro tngr txts plc drng rbbry

Teenagers, eh? Surly little herberts. They talk to adults so little you'd almost think they'd lost the ability to communicate - unless, that is, it's by mobile phone. They virtually always have a mobile clamped to their spotty ears, and when they haven't they'll texting. Or, as they would have it, thyd b txtg. Teachers are forever complaining about their pupils' mobiles in the classroom and many confiscate any they see, otherwise the little buggers'll be texting away and not listen to a word Teach says.

There's a family in London who are going to be glad their own teenage son in a text addict, though - because he managed to surreptitiously use his mobile to send a text message asking neighbours to phone the police while he, his siblings, parents and housekeeper lay tied up on the bathroom floor of their Hendon home during a £60,000 armed robbery.

His mother, who was punched in the face by the raiders when she refused to tell them where the safe was located, explains: "He goes to an Orthodox school and they teach themselves to text with their phones in their pockets. It came in very handy."

We imagine that when he finds out that the boy secretly texts in class, the rabbi won't be too angry with him. Good lad!