TV DIY shows are not just transforming our homes - they are also changing the face of business in Brighton and around the country.

As entrepreneurs follow Laurence Llewelyn Bowen and Handy Andy into business, a Barclays survey for the fourth quarter of 2002 has revealed a 24 per cent increase in new start-ups in the construction sector.

There were 91,200 businesses started during the period - an 11 per cent increase on 2001.

Some 26,000 enterprising interior designers, landscape gardeners and builders took the plunge around the country to become their own boss.

The trend has partly been driven by high property prices and low interest rates, which have made it easy to finance home improvements through equity release.

In 2002, there were 12 start-ups per thousand adults in Brighton and Hove, the national average.

Nigel Jeffrey, head of small business for Barclays in Brighton, said: "After a tough year in 2001 - which saw September 11 and the foot-and-mouth crisis - it's good to see start-up numbers begin to rebound as budding entrepreneurs, who may have put their plans on ice previously, set their ideas in motion.

"TV home improvement shows have given us all a new appreciation of dado rails and decking but we don't all have the abilities to turn those dreams into reality.

"When situations like this arise, opportunities are created for entrepreneurs with the skills and drive to give us what we want."

Business closures fell slightly in the last quarter of 2002 to 105,000, a fall of two per cent on the same period of 2001.

However, the number of firms in the UK declined by 60,000 last year -there are now 2.66 million businesses in England and Wales.

According to Department of Trade and Industry's small business service, London and the South-East have the biggest business populations of the English regions, accounting for 35 per cent of the UK total.

Thursday April 10 2003