I assume this is the starter motor sticking, is there any way of curing this or is it a replacement job?

You can remove it and re-grease it, some people have had sucsess others havn't and then have replaced,

HTH

this is a very common problem but nearly always curable. remove the starter and clean the bendix gear. it's imperative you don't use any grease.

use a dry type spray cleaner like brake or carb cleaner.get a wash up basin and a toothbrush clean the drive gear untill its spotless and refit to the car and dont use any kind of lubricant as it would attract clutch dust and cause the problem all over again.

Will give it a try, cheers

i replaced mine as no amount of cleaning it would stop it from making that horrible,embarassing noise on start up! some people have had luck sorting it by removing it & cleaning it,id try cleaning it first as it wont cost you anything,if it doesnt work all you have wasted is a bit of time removing it & re fitting it!

Yeah, thats the plan tbh. I'm looking to sell it soon so trying to get all the niggly bits sorted so its perfect for its new owner.