Thanks for the replies so far, had a look underneath the machine tonight and
could see nothing that looks like the heater element, on the base of the
drum there are two connector's at a guess possibly a thermostat. looking at
the pictures of the element it looks quite large so I am assuming it is
fixed either at the front or the back of the drum. at another guess I would
say its at the front? next step is to try and get the outer case off, any
tips appreciated??

Paul.