THE number of customers joining Virgin Mobile has nearly halved in the first quarter, the firm revealed yesterday.

However, the mobile phone firm insisted its move into the contract market had proved successful.

The company added 77,000 active users in the three months to June 30 compared with 150,000 during the same period last year.

Virgin was hit by factors such as the increasing tendency for people to switch from operator to operator, as well as its decision to focus on more "quality" customer additions.

But the firm, which had until recently only offered pre-pay deals, said its new contract service had made a strong start since it was launched earlier this year.

Virgin differs from rivals such as Vodafone and O2 as a "virtual operator" which uses the network of T-Mobile. Most of its business comes from customers buying pre-pay vouchers to top up the credit on their mobile phones.

The company employs 1,400 staff at three sites in London, Trowbridge and Daventry.