The rates are for any time of day or night, and Asda reckons the price cut makes it the cheapest PAYG operator out there – even cheaper than the likes of rival retail behemoth Ikea, which offers 9p a minute calls and 6p texts.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this is Asda’s network. While Vodafone is raising its prices, Asda has managed to get such a good deal from its network supplier it can trim the costs to a minimum. The supplier? You’ve guessed it, Vodafone.

The supermarket behemoth is knocking out four handset models for the bargain price of £5 – one Nokia and three Sagems – with 50,000 devices up for grabs. The phones are pay-as-you-go but shoppers don’t need to buy credit or sign up to a deal to get the phone itself.

The devices unsurprisingly aren’t the prettiest or the most fully functioned out there, but at £5, I’d be tempted to stick one in the cupboard for those unavoidable times when my primary mobile gets lost/stolen/dropped in a toilet. While it might be a popular move with anyone in need of a backup handset, it won’t be popular with parents who’ve been putting off their tween’s inevitable first mobile with the ‘you’ll have to save up for it yourself’ line.