Thieves rummaged through an unconscious man's pockets to steal his phone as he lay dying from hypothermia, a court heard. Scott Stephenson, 19, took the iPhone 4 from the 22-year-old victim as he lay in the street in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, while friend Dale Walker, 25, looked on. The next morning the victim's body was discovered close to a playground, and a post mortem examination revealed he had died from hypothermia during the cold December night. Teenage thief Scott Stephenson (left) rummaged through an unconscious man's pockets to steal his phone as he lay dying in an alleyway from hypothermia, while friend Dale Walker (right) looked on, a court heard . Stephenson and Walker are now facing jail after Stephenson admitted theft at South Tyneside Magistrates Court while Walker admitted handling stolen goods. The court was told that the pair had been travelling on the same train as the 22-year-old victim, who was not named in court, and they had all got off at the Chichester Metro station in South Shields. The victim had suggested that they all continued on to one of their homes, but Stephenson and Walker declined and ran away. The 22-year-old is then thought to have tripped and fallen as he tried to go after them, landing in the road. Stephenson and Walker, who are both from South Shields, returned 30 minutes later and found him still lying there unconscious. But instead of helping him or calling an ambulance Stephenson rummaged through his pockets and stole the iPhone 4. The next morning the victim's body was discovered close to a playground in this alleyway in South Shields, and a post mortem examination revealed he had died from hypothermia during the cold December night . It is thought the man tripped and fell as he tried to go after Stephenson (left) and Walker (right). They returned 30 minutes later and found him unconscious . Keith Laidlaw, prosecuting, told the court: 'They found him lying there. Stephenson said he was breathing and snoring. 'He searched his pocket and stole a mobile phone. Walker later said that he watched as Stephenson stole the phone from the victim's pocket. 'Now, the defendants have said as far as they were concerned, they felt he was alive and sleeping at the time the property was taken. 'The victim was vulnerable, he was 22, just a young man. The ramifications of what happened spread far beyond the victim.' District Judge Helen Cousins committed the case to Newcastle Crown Court, where the pair will be sentenced on April 13. 'They have taken away the one thing that would have allowed him to get help if he was able to,' she said.
Scott Stephenson, 19, stole man's iPhone while Dale Walker, 25 looked on . Victim had tripped over while chasing after pair, who he met on a train . Body was discovered the next day, close to a playground in South Shields . Stephenson admitted theft and Walker admitted handling stolen goods .