Thanks for the leads you two. When I collected the dripping fuel I noticed it had a slightly cloudy appearance, suggesting water contamination. Can the carburettor tolerate a certain amount of the unwanted H 2O? I just poured a drop of metho into the tank in the hope that will remove any traces.
The mower, whilst undercover, has been splashed with water a couple of times due to overflowing blocked guttering during heavy sustained downpours and it seems the vented fuel caps allow water ingress into the tank if enough drips over them.


Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!