The message .com
from contains these words:

The washer cycle has took a long time for a while now,
I kept having to push it round manually to spin etc. Now the dial is
clearly stiff and not moving round properly.

Sometimes the timer will not advance until the stage it's on has been
completed. If you've got a blocked pump, for example, some models won't
advance to spin till the water level's low enough. If it can't get low
enough 'cos it's blocked it'll not advance.

I'd check two things first - the pump and the connection to the level sensor.

The pump's pretty obvious, it's the thing with two wires and two pipes -
one from the bottom of the drum, the other leading out of the casing to
the waste pipe.

The level sensor is usually a thing the size of a round tobacco tin and
looks like this
http://shop.ezee-fix.co.uk/Spare_Par...witch_991.html

The thin pipe that leads to it will run eventually to somewhere near the
bottom of the drum - but will usually go through a wider pipe first -
this sometimes gets blocked with scum[1]. Cleaning it out so the sensor
can detect the level properly may help.

[1] Remember to take chavs out of your pockets before washing.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.