Connection glitch hits Vodafone

Vodafone has apologised to affected customers

Technical problems have hit Vodafone's UK mobile phone network, leaving some customers across the country unable to make calls or send messages.

Vodafone said the problems - caused by a problematic upgrade to its text messaging service - were intermittent.

It said early reports that more than half-a-million UK users had been disconnected were exaggerated.

"We are extremely apologetic to customers who have been affected," a spokeswoman said.

The UK's largest mobile phone operator said it could not say precisely how many customers had lost their service after problems surfaced on Friday morning.

It said the problem - which was not limited to a single part of the country - had been largely resolved, but admitted that some users were still not able to use their phones.

"We are trying to restore services as quickly as possible," the firm added.

It urged customers experiencing problems to try using their phones at regular intervals.