A mobile phone shop which closed after it went into administration has reopened.

Vodafone is now trading at 88 High Street, Sittingbourne.

It is one of 139 Phones 4U stores acquired by the network provider, which is said to form part of its £100 million nationwide expansion.

The move saved 11 jobs which were under threat at the town business after Phones 4U last month announced it had been “forced into administration”.

The company’s downfall came after EE and Vodafone withdrew their supply. It said it was a healthy business, but cannot function without mobile network suppliers.

Following the announcement, its website was taken offline and replaced with a message to customers illustrated with a sad face. It was signed off: “Thank you for your custom. The heartbroken Phones 4U team.”

Sixteen branches in the county were closed and almost 1,700 jobs were lost nationwide.

At the beginning of the month this paper reported how Sarah Moon had dropped off her Sony Xperia Z1 smartphone into the retailer’s Sittingbourne branch just before it closed down.

It meant she was left footing the £50 a month bill for a mobile she couldn't use as it was locked inside the empty shop.

The 39-year-old Upchurch resident was angry about the situation because she believed she couldn't stop paying her bill in case it had a negative impact on her credit rating.

She is yet to receive her phone and she has not heard anything from the firm about the matter.

A Vodafone spokesman said: “The opening of the Sittingbourne store forms part of Vodafone’s wider plans to invest £1 billion this year in the networks and services relied upon by its more than 19 million UK customers.

“Vodafone UK’s 2014 capital investment programme is the largest in its history – dating back to the company’s foundation in the 1980s – with work already well under way to deliver Vodafone’s commitment to provide indoor and outdoor coverage using 2G, 3G and 4G services to 98% of the UK population.”