3 forced to delay HTC Desire due to ash cloud

3 has told TechRadar that it has been forced to delay stocks of the HTC Desire to its stores due to that damned ash cloud.

The HTC Desire was supposed to land on the high streets today, but all that ash and volcanic stuff has forced things to be pushed back (while, we presume, noble 3 employees carry it across continents instead).

UPDATE: We've been told by 3 that it does have some of the original batch still in stock, so you will be able to get an HTC Desire in 50 stores across the country. So if you're desperate, hurry down!

The Desire has already been put on sale in its 'vanilla' version on the 3 site, where it doesn't have the usual integrated Skype and Spotify applications.

Playing the waiting game

The full fat version will be delayed for the foreseeable future, with stocks now expected in the next few days:

"As you may know the HTC Desire has been on sale through 3's Upgrade team for existing customers as well as three.co.uk for new customers," said 3.

"Yesterday we learnt that there would be limited stock of the much awaited HTC Desire. This is due to the ongoing disruptions caused by the volcanic ash cloud, which unfortunately has affected the expected delivery of new stock from Asia.

Sylvia Chind, Head of Branded handsets at 3 says: "If you have pre-bought the Desire over the phone or online we'll be able to fulfil our delivery commitment to you – if you're unsure of your delivery date, please give us a call.

"But until further notice our Upgrades team and three.co.uk are very stock constrained. We appreciate how desperate many of you are to get your hands on the Desire, but unfortunately we can't control the stock deliveries coming into us. We really do share in your frustration – we'll keep you posted as and when we know more."

The HTC Desire will be available on 3 from £15 per month (although this doesn't include internet and you will have to pay £200 for the phone).