MOBILE phone giant Vodafone has kicked off a new dynasty at its Birchwood HQ - and is relying on rugby legend Brian Bevan to be its lucky mascot.

This week the firm's sprawling site in Dalton Avenue was named as the location for one of its two regional management centres.

And as a result, Vodafone has opened a new customer contact centre in Birchwood, with the help of modern-day Wire winger Dean Gaskell.

Following an internal reorganisation, and the closure of the company's technical support site in Solihull, the Warrington operation is now responsible for Vodafone's English customers, north of the Midlands, and billpayers in Scotland and Northern Ireland also.

A Vodafone spokesman said: "The management centre at Solihull will now be based in Warrington, which will mean extra responsibilities there.

"It may well be that some people transfer there from Solihull. It is good news for Warrington and we are totally committed to the centre here."

The spokesman also confirmed that additional workers were being recruited to the Birchwood offices on a regular basis.

Southern operations will be handled from another centre in Hayes, Middlesex. It is expected that the system will come fully into force at the start of November.