Research by the Federation of Small Businesses found that 58.8% of small firms said Britain should be working with the objective of keeping the pound.

Some 30.5% of the 11,328 who replied to the survey said Britain should rule out the possibility of ever joining.

A further 28.3% said the UK should not join the euro, but should not rule it out forever.

The survey comes just two months after the Confederation of British Industry said its research showed UK businesses were in favour of joining the single currency.

CBI president Sir Clive Thompson said in July that the organisation's policy was now a clear "yes" to the euro - although not an unconditional one.

In the latest survey, Northern Ireland was the only region in the UK where small businesses wishing to join the euro (44.6%) outnumbered those opposed to the currency (31.1%).

The province is also the only area in the UK to have a land border with a euro-zone country - the Republic of Ireland.

Young firms less sceptical

Euro-sceptics among small businesses far outweigh the europhiles.

Only 8.4% said the UK should join the euro as soon as possible and 9.9% said Britain should work towards joining in the future.

Just over 20% were undecided, saying Britain should continue to investigate joining but make no commitment either way.

But among small firms which either export or import goods or materials from the European Union, the proportion of companies opposed to the euro was lower at around 52%.

And about 12.5% of such firms said the UK should join up as soon as possible.