Hi Chaps,
Bought myself a new battery and problem solved, everything 100% whenever you turn the key now. Thanks for all the advice and info.
Incidentally, I found when I was having problems that if you turned the ignition on, you can manually release the hand brake before turning the engine over. An error message would come up saying that you cannot apply the parking brake and an amber warning light, but the car was still completely drive-able. Once you turn the ignition off, the brake would reset for the next time. Not ideal I know, but it saved opening the boot up every five minutes and either disconnecting the battery or unplugging the management system hidden behind the brake lights.
Different car with a new battery, my advice, early xmas presents all round!!!
Thanks again,
Drago