Chris
Thanks for your quick of the mark response.
i' ve had the car 3 years and I reckon the battery is 5 - 6 years old at least, although its not as old as the car itself which is 1982
Over the winter I trickle charged the battery and it was OK, the car went for a 12000 service and the battery was a little overfull so I tipped some water out!
The water is still above the plates so I reckon your advice that it is overfull (still ) is a good place to start tomorrow morning.
Hopefully I might get a drive with sloshing acid over the panel
Thanks for your thoughts
regards
Chris