Doh!

Arrgghhhh

Why did I bother buying a house?

It's so not worth it, really, is it?

Just found out that the washing machine has been leaking, not sure how long for but it'll explain:

The laminate lifting up slightly, maybe a millimetre
Hinge on door popped off last night - this was how my boyf discovered the leak

and...

that ever so ominous 'tick ticking' sound I've been hearing when sat at the table on the laptop.

So, we've had the internet at home around 3 weeks, that's when I moved to sitting at the table with the laptop and estimate that I've been hearing it for around 2 weeks, although not constantly (whether that's because the tv was on or not, who knows)
The plaster on the wall is wet - which made me think we'll definitely have to get insurance out to make sure the wall is ok then. Plus the unit has soaked up the water and has warped out of shape thus popping the hinge off.
The laminate will have soaked up the water like a sponge, well the underlay will have. The laminate runs totally from the kitchen through into the living room and entrance hall, so that's going to be fun.

Doesn't sound like the little hiccup I initially thought, so Pete'll be phoning insurance tomorrow to get them out on it as I won't be able to do it today, plus I don't have documentation and such to know any account numbers or whatever it is we'll need.

So, the lesson to be learnt is:

Whenever there's a weird ticking sound, don't assume it's a clock.