British call centres received a boost from a leading retailer last night.

Mobile phone dealer Carphone Warehouse said it had no plans to move call centre jobs abroad because UK staff were better at dealing with UK customers.

Call centre staff have been under pressure recently as companies export jobs abroad to reduce costs.

Earlier this week, Lloyds TSB said it was pressing ahead with plans to close a call centre on Tyneside, despite a report that said it would lead to a poorer service.

Research by ContactBabel has shown that workers in UK call centres answered a quarter more calls each hour than Indian employees and resolved 17 per cent more of the calls first time.

That research was backed by Carphone Warehouse's chief finance officer Roger Taylor, who said: ''The quality of service and complexity of calls that our agents have to deal with makes it imperative to keep our call centres in the UK.''

The group has two call centres, in Warrington, which employ between 600 and 700 staff.

* The North-East's latest call centre development opens today at Penshaw, near Sunderland. Northern Electric's new centre will create 25 jobs. Staff will deal with customer inquires about power interruptions and emergencies.