Problem solved once and for all - I bit the bullet and took her to VRS in Northampton and let Will and the boys work on it. I expected a big bill when I came back to the car, but all I got was a £60 bill.

Essentially one of the control modules had a loose connection on it and that was causing it to spark and arc, this in turn was causing havoc with other control modules because it was losing its coding, this is what I was having symptomatic issues with other parts of the car, i.e., flickering lights in the dash binnacle, the sat nav sometimes forgot there was a DVD in there and stopped loading it, the battery warning light was also caused by this, it seems as though all is related.

So for me at least, the door handle was a separate issue, which is now fixed, the electrics are sorted and I am a happy driver!

Great to hear it all got sorted. +++

Which control module was it and where was it located?

Oli

Like a dumbass I forgot what unit it was but he showed me a video of it which I have requested to post on here, hopefully he sends it, but it's a black unit with a thick black cable that appears to run to the centre of it and the cable is secured with a bolt, the bolt wasn't tight and the cable connector was wobbling all over the place which was causing the short

Really pleased to hear such a great outcome. Enjoy! +++

This is the unit...

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/...psk8gltbuh.jpg

Yes, yes, I know its immediately visible, but I never thought to check that bolt, so should have been my first point to check. In any case, its solved my problem, hopefully it'll help someone else with a similar issue.

Thanks, I will check this next time in there, I could see it possibly loosening when disconnecting the -ve cable and pushing it up out the way.

I presume the module photographed is the power management unit ?

:) Yes; it's ECU 61 - the Battery manager.