Up to 150,000 new businesses could be created in Tyne and Wear if would-be entrepreneurs made their dream a reality, a survey has claimed.

Research carried out by Business Link shows that 22% of people living in Tyne and Wear are thinking about starting a business, a rate which is twice the national average.

Typically, those thinking about starting out on their own are under 35 (71%) and the overwhelming majority, (89%), have no previous experience of owning a business.

Business Link, which has been campaigning to encourage people thinking of starting their own business to do so, estimates that, if those intentions were followed through, 150,000 new companies would be created.

The conclusions represent both a tonic and a challenge to business support organisations such as Business Link North East, which has the task of helping new companies to start up and grow.

The North-East currently lags behind the rest of the UK and needs an extra 32,000 small businesses to start up each year just to keep pace with other regions.

A £5m scheme - the North East Enterprise Bond - was launched earlier this year to help boost the number of start-ups and encourage people in the region to be more entrepreneurial.

Nicki Clark, commercial director of Business Link in Tyne and Wear, said: "Here in the North-East, we're very used to hearing about our low levels of entrepreneurship and how we need to encourage more start-ups.

"Our research provides a more positive outlook that shows there are plenty of people out there interested in starting their own business, whether that means working on their own or finding a team to do it with.

"What we have to do is make sure these `thinkers' get the right information and advice: firstly, to find out if this is something they really do want to do and, secondly, to get their idea off the ground.

"Help always comes from many different sources - for example, friends, family and work colleagues. Business Link is here to add value to that support network and enable people to find the information and professional expertise they will also need."

The survey showed that the main reasons people want to start a business are to make more money (45%) and to be their own boss (45%).

Finding finance was seen as the biggest single barrier, with 49% of those surveyed citing it as the major problem about starting out.

As part of its Stop Thinking About It, Start Doing It campaign, Business Link is planning a new series of free events over the coming months, aimed at anyone thinking about starting a business.

The organisation is also holding a second Start Your Business event during the autumn, following the response and feedback to the first one held earlier this year.