ok i removed the surge protector, ran the neutral passed the power switch and bought a rcd adapter
no joy :(
tripped the building out a couple more times (house mates cursing and growling)
stripped the whole thing down looking for a short
i managed to norrow the problem down to some kind of interaction betwean my 24v supply and the driver board
took them over to my girlfreinds house, tripped her power out a dosen times before i twigged than one of the brass risers i was using to mount my driver board to the power supply was reaching through the supply case and touching the top of one of the large caps in there
FFF***nvpkdjsdkcning Hell!!!!!!

thats what i get for being lazy and not making sure they were clear... three days with my thumb up my arse!

ill have to keep my fingers crossed that i havnt damaged the board