DEVELOPERS say they have been swamped by inquiries about 149 homes that have yet to be built.

Cheshire-based Bett Homes said last September that they would build 149 homes at Greenside, Dalton.

The firm says that, so far, 400 people have rung it to ask about buying one.

Michaela Lancaster, Bett Homes sales and marketing director, said: "We knew the location of the site was just right and that demand would be high.

"But we have been taken aback."

The developers are part of the Gladedale group.

They plan to create a mixture of flats, mews and town houses, semis and detached houses on the site of the former Greenside Mill, off Wakefield Road.

The firm says the homes will range in price to suit everyone, from first-time buyers and young families to executives.

The sales office at the site is open and the first show homes are expected to be complete by late next month.

The site was formerly used by Greenside WMC - which became the Greenside Arms - and by Dawsons Fur Fabrics.