SMALL businesses in the North-East are not getting the time to sift the "turkeys from the potential Richard Bransons" when it comes to ideas to improve productivity, a survey has shown.

Companies are bursting with ideas but failing to make many of them happen, the study said.

Small business owners and managers in the region said they each typically come up with six good ideas a month. But lack of time, money and help means only three of them get off the ground.

Martin Wyn Griffith, head of Business Link, said: "Businesses say they often cannot take ideas beyond the brainwave stage, so never get the opportunity to find out which are turkeys and which may fly and turn them into the next Richard Branson.

"They say it is because they lack time and money to develop ideas further, or do not always have enough knowledge or experience to quickly recognise what is worth pursuing, and what just will not work.

"This typically means businesses each ditch up to 36 potentially winning and profitable ideas every year."

Bosses told the survey that ideas are sparked everywhere from the water cooler at work to the bathroom at home. The most creative places are in bed or in the bathroom.

Mr Wyn Griffith said: "We found that many businesses are coming up with excellent ideas to make their businesses more profitable or efficient.

"But they are cautious about putting any into practice because they cannot be sure what is going to work and what will not - they do not want to waste money on something that turns out to be useless."

Business Link interviewed 600 owners and senior decision makers from small businesses with between one and 249 employees across the UK.