Mobile phone users are hard-pushed to remember even a handful of numbers stored on their handsets, according to a survey out today.

A poll of 2,353 adults found 69% could not correctly recall five numbers from their mobiles. But six in 10 respondents did not have their phone numbers backed up in any way.

British mobile phone users have on average 80 numbers stored in their contacts lists, according to Zyb.com which commissioned the survey. This puts them at risk of losing family and friends’ numbers in the event of handsets getting lost or stolen, the firm warned.

Psychologist David Moxon said living in a hi-tech society meant people relied less on their memories.

"Cognitive functions such as mathematical and memory processing are frequent casualties in the over-reliant world of calculators, computers and mobile phones," he said.