Telesales cold callers are the bane of small business, according to a new survey.

More than 60 per cent of small business-owners said they received more than five irritating calls per week – with 10 per cent receiving 10 calls or more.

And just under 90 per cent of businesses surveyed said sales calls were the 'most annoying' – with half of those saying calls made by mobile phone companies were the worst.

The survey was carried out by virtual PA service Kendlebell.

Managing director Simon Carter said: "Cold calls from salespeople are a fact of life, but our survey shows they are an irritating distraction which get in the way of the business day.

"It's clear that people running small businesses are often working flat out and really don't want their time wasted.

"Our own PAs answering calls for thousands of businesses know just how frequently these call are made."

Other annoying sales calls included those made by utility suppliers, with gas and electricity companies high on the list, and telesales calls about health and life insurance.

But respondents said they were also irritated by business survey calls, calls from customer services departments following up purchases made earlier and advertising sales calls.

Only five per cent said the most annoying calls they received were from unreasonable customers.