SMALL businesses in Yorkshire are being warned not to be left behind by missing out on opportunities online.

The message comes from the Government's Do More Online campaign after research found 19 per cent of small business in Yorkshire don't have a website, while 53 per cent are without a social media presence.

The survey also revealed 22 per cent don't use online banking, while 86 per cent have never traded through their own website.

With total website sales in the UK worth £193 billion, government and industry experts are urging small businesses and sole traders to do more online to make sure they don’t miss out.

Government entrepreneur-in-residence Simon Devonshire, said: "Government research suggests that nearly two million UK businesses are not online, and of those that do have an online presence; more than two thirds are not transactional.

"I cannot think of a business to whom being online is not now vital to their trade, irrespective of their ambition to grow.

"I think those businesses that embrace the digital opportunity are improving their opportunity."