Hi guys,
Still not explored all options yet but will keep trying.
I am fairly competent when it comes to computers and electronics (seeing as I have my degree in both those diciplines!) so I understand all the issues involved and would probably make my own NTSC->PAL convertor if I needed one. So far though, I havn't found the need.
I used to have a Nintendo Z64 device for "backing up" nintendo cartriges and I had quite a few USA ROMs for that one most of which I patched but they seemed to work out the box (well, off the net I suppose

)
I will try another generic NTSC->PAL patching program first then I'll see about a hardware fix. I don't know if that is the problem at the end of the day anyway.
I'll post here if I am successful!!
Cheers for all your help guys.
Siege