Great start to my electrical career...

[Strima]

No, four-candles !

Sounds like billhooks to me...

Coat, hat and gone...

 

[vernam616]

Black rubber still in use? Then deffo rewire, you just need to wiggle that stuff and insulation falls off

I reckon you have disturbed a lighting cable, its shed its insulation and created your l- n fault

 

[Mark_Burgess]

Thanks for the help chaps,

Boiler feed is rather helpfully by means of a 13 amp plug which is run from the kitchen circuit.

Full rewire definitely on the cards but seeing as the lights are now completely dead, it's going to have to be sooner rather than later!

Is it a combi boiler or is there a water tank?
Is there separate hot water and heating controller somewhere?

 

[Current Affairs]

That old black rubber is a nightmare, dont touch it unless your going to rip it out, it will just keep crumbling in your hands

 

[DNS1]

Is it a combi boiler or is there a water tank?
Is there separate hot water and heating controller somewhere?

It's a combi and is powered from a 13a socket, along with it's timer.

I took a couple of lighting fixtures down to see if I could split the radial and isolate the problem as a temporary fix, but the cables just crumbled in my hands.

Told her it would be too dangerous to attempt a fix because of the state of the rest of the wiring...

Time to purchase that long overdue chaser and do a full rewire...