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The sole mobile phone operator offering the iPhone has responded to lower than anticipated sales of the Apple gadget by saying it is still "early days".

Analysts had predicted sales to hit around the 100,000 mark in the first few days following the release of the iPhone in the UK, but O2 chief executive Peter Erskine said that the actual amount was only in the "tens of thousands".

"It's the old story in retail, if you can get them in you can sell them something," he said.

"What I don't know yet... is how much extra we are selling as a result of all of the extra footfall."

According to reports, O2 brought in some 1,400 temporary staff to cope with the expected rush for the iPhone, following manic scenes when the Apple product launched in the US.

But the queues were not as long as predicted when the iPhone went on sale at 18:02 GMT on Friday November 9th, with the only option being to sign up to a minimum of an 18-month contract with O2.

Fellow sales partner Carphone Warehouse had stocked up with 50,000 handsets to cover the launch rush, but only 11,000 have reportedly been sold so far.