Britain's economy received a boost yesterday after successive figures showed good news for Gordon Brown and the government.

While manufacturing industry has rebounded on both sides of the Atlantic, Britain is also enjoying a renewed surge in house prices, and house building activity has also picked up.

The engineering industry predicted that the sector was set for the fastest growth in five years.

Halifax, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, said the price of a home rose on average by 1.3 per cent in August, following July's 1.4 per cent increase. It said prices had risen on average by 1.1 per cent a month since June - almost double the 20-year average of 0.6 per cent.