nah mate that would have been Dan
the gearbox is one of those luck of the draw things, you can drive like a granny and it goes, or like a hooligan and it wont, its one of those things!
the punto boxes benefits are that they are cheaper, easier to find, and the acceleration is better, not so great on motorways due to the shorter gearing, 70 mph is circa 4k rpm
im in kent on the thames eastury mate, so not a million miles away, if you get the parts im more than happy to help for some cash, but it will work out a hell of alot cheaper than a garage job
a local scrap yard charged me £400 a few year ago to fit a punto box, i can get a box and clutch for 130 and do it myself. the cambelt would cost you in the reigon of £120 ish from a garage and as i said you can get a gates belt kit and tensioner for £60
so instead of paying the best part of £600 if your lucky, you can get the parts for say 200 and then me some cash and bingo saved yourself just under half the cash there and then!!!
Andy_sx