Midland entrepreneurs have been told to turn to local sources of finance as nervous banks starved of cash in the credit crunch start to cut down on funding.

And people looking for a new home were warned to start proceedings as soon as possible as mortgage providers start to pull out of the sector.

The messages came as the Bank of England yesterday pumped an extra £5 billion into frozen money markets - bringing its total funding available to £10.9 billion - at the end of a week of stock market turmoil.

It was not enough however to stop London's FTSE 100 Index finishing nearly one per cent lower, with the leading share index down 2.5 per cent overall.

Steve Walker, the chief executive of the Aston Reinvestment Trust, said local entrepreneurs and small businesses would feel the effects of the tightening financial market first, because under-pressure banks would be looking to cut down on higher-risk investment.

But he added there would still be money available for enterprising West Midlanders, particularly if they looked to smaller, independent funding bodies. "At the moment what I would say is that there is no doubt small business owners are going to find it more difficult to obtain funding via business plans from the banks, because of strict risk criteria," he said.

"But also, as many have in the past used personal loans and remortgages on their houses to support their business ideas and growth plans, this is going to be a problem, as the opportunity to do this is being reduced on a daily basis.

"However there are still sources of finance some of which are not new to everybody such as public sector support funds.

"Its best to go and seek advice, they shouldn't just think there is no money available, because there is this money around. Just keep away from the credit cards and keep away from the loan sharks."

Independent trusts lend startup or development money to entrepreneurs and SMEs. Examples in the West Midlands range from large organisations like AWM's Business Link, which can lend tens of thousands of pounds, to organisations like the ART, which can give small loans to support individual business dreams.

In the housing sector, smaller banks and building societies were swamped with mortgage requests and two lenders - the Bath Building Society and the Earl Shilton Building Society - pulled almost their entire range from the market as they were inundated with new customers. Bath said it had simply run out of money to lend.

And the Tipton and Coseley Building Society, which still offers 95 per cent mortgages, had so many inquiries from across the country it had to close its doors to homebuyers from outside the West Midlands.

Market analysts have advised people looking to remortgage their homes to apply at least three months in advance, and take opportunities quickly before they were pulled in the face of tightening lending criteria.

But while customers face the prospect of less choice, West Midlands lenders voiced confidence in the local market.

Rob Clifford, the chief executive of Mortgage Force, part of the West Bromwich Building Society Group, said there were still plenty of mortgages available - for the right people.

He said: "I would say there's good and bad news. There's still choice - there are over 5,000 mortgage products out there. Of course that's fewer than there used to be and that's an indication of how the market is changing. "Where people need to be careful is if they have got bad credit or made bad financial choices. Places have stopped doing 95 or 100 per cent mortgages and there is definitely a tightening in that area.

"People with mortgages like these may find they have to stick with the deals they have got, and may not be able to move on.

"But there are still mortgages to be had, particularly from regional building societies but also from national lenders, and things will be easier if you have some equity.

"In real terms we have to remember things aren't that bad."

A spokesman for Birmingham Midshires called for calm, saying there was no need for people to panic and there was still plenty of scope for further investment or purchases on the local property market.

"Although the worldwide housing market has been hit by yet another blow from the credit crunch, generally we are of the opinion that the market in Birmingham will remain stable throughout 2008," he said.