REGIONAL development officials are hoping North-East drinkers will discover the spirit of enterprise in the bottom of a pint glass.

They have produced 250,000 beer mats as part of an ongoing campaign to make people think about setting up their own business.

The mats contain a simple inspirational message and a telephone number, which can help with access to information and advice needed to set up a business.

The campaign has been developed by One NorthEast to boost the number of business start-ups in the area.

David Smith, regional initiatives manager at One NorthEast, said: "We had a tremendous response to a similar campaign we ran last year and we are hoping this year will prove just as successful.

"It seems a pub is the ideal place to get people thinking about being their own boss and beer mats provide an ideal scribbling pad to jot down ideas."

Hartlepool-based pub company, Pubmaster is distributing the beer mats for One NorthEast throughout its regional pub network.

Nigel Sammons, commercial director at Pubmaster said: "All our licensees are enterprising people who have taken that step to become self-employed and run a pub, so this initiative is very close to the roots of Pubmaster's aims and objectives."