COUNTY Durham business woman Anne Wood, who created the Teletubbies, has scooped the award for Women Entrepreneur of the Year, sponsored by Women into the Network at the University of Durham's Foundation for Small and Medium Enterprises Development.

She has also been ranked as the UK's tenth most successful entrepreneur of the year. Eight women feature in the Enterprise 100, two more than last year.

Female entrepreneurs are steadily gaining a presence in the overall rankings and are also climbing towards the top. Two software specialists, Christine Wuillamie of CWB Systems Services and Nikki Beckett of NSB Retail have broken into the top 20 for the first time.

Dinah Bennett, programme director at the Foundation for SME Development at the University of Durham, commented: "Research has shown that role models inspire us to excel. The Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award has been set up to create role models and in so doing challenge others to develop successful enterprises."

Bronagh Miskelly, editor of Enterprise magazine, added: "Women account for over a third of all businesses started in the UK and that percentage continues to grow. It is marvellous to see more women breaking into the higher ranks and showing that entrepreneurial business is not just a male preserve."

The Enterprise 100 Entrepreneurs are ranked by the percentage rise over five years in turnover, the percentage increase in jobs over five years and the net worth of the entrepreneur's stake in the company.

Women into the Network is an initiative which assists the integration of women entrepreneurs into existing business networks. Open to men and women, the project aims to support the creation and management of effective businesses by women through addressing the difficulties of integration in mainstream business networks.