Visitors to Sussex Enterprise's annual conference were spellbound listening to the daredevil exploits of Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

Record numbers attended the event last week to hear the renowned explorer, cousin of actor Ralph Fiennes, give an enthralling account of his explorations and feats of endurance.

These included the first circumnavigation of the earth via the poles, and running seven marathons in seven continents in seven days only months after a heart attack.

Earlier, Sally Preston, founder of frozen baby-food company Babylicious, gave a heart-warming account of her rocky road to success over the past five years.

She came up with the idea of freezing healthy pureed baby food in 2001 but struggled to raise money and tackled personal problems and legal disputes before succeeding.

She advised delegates to stay focused and committed and to forget about business plans if they wanted to achieve their goals.

Mark Froud, chief executive of Sussex Enterprise said: "This has been the biggest most successful conference we have held to date.

"Holding the conference at the Brighton Centre meant we could offer so much more to the 1,300 delegates, including over 90 exhibitors, a range of masterclasses and training seminars as well as fantastic opportunities to do business with each other.

"We chose some of the most successful Sussex entrepreneurs to inspire our business leaders. These included Sarah Hatswell of Horsham's Sovereign Credit Management; Steven Barrett of Faygatebased Spaceover Group; and Mark Duggan of Gatwick distribution company Eezehaul.

All three overcame huge challenges to create flourishing Sussex companies.

"I'm proud of the work Sussex Enterprise has done over the past year, we have worked with over 23,000 businesses helping them to increase their productivity and profitability.

"On average the businesses we work closely with increase their turnover by a whopping £100,000 per business and boost the local economy by £70 million."

The conference, sponsored by The Learning and Skills Council and Business Link, is the largest one-day business conference in the South-East.