HOUSEBUILDER Bellway yesterday showed it had smashed through profits targets for the past year after the housing boom pushed sales to a new high.

The Newcastle-based group said it had reached a key milestone after selling more than 6,000 homes across the UK for the first time ever.

Bellway's finance director Alistair Leitch said he was ''pretty staggered'' by the progress made following a difficult first-half.

Profits in the half-year to January 31 were up 11 per cent, but average selling prices fell after the impact of the September 11 atrocities.

Bellway managed an average sale price of £113,600 in the first half but the average for the year to July 31 has shot up to more than £120,000.

Shares in the group were up almost 4 per cent in afternoon trading, ahead 16p to 450p.

Analysts had expected the group to report full-year profits of around £115m but Mr Leitch said Bellway would come in above this target.

"There's always a bit of trepidation about how the year is going to pan out, and we've had September 11 which held us back a bit," Mr Leitch said.

"But we have been pretty staggered by the way things have gone."