im looking at buying a new slr camera with my xmas bonus, but not sure what to get. any one got any recomendations of a good slr for a novice photographer? looking at spending about 3 to £400.
cheers.

I can't imagine you'd go far wrong with a Nikon D3000 to be honest. I've got a D40 which is great but they've stopped selling them (I think). Although it's only 6megapixels it still produces really clear shots:

Either way i'd go for Canon, Nikon or Sony because it's important to remember you'll be buying accessories at some point (filters, lenses, flashes etc) and you want a well established company with the range of kit that'll suit in future.

d3000 with a VR lens. Wonderful bargain bit of kit.
D5000 even better if you can stretch to it.

I have a D80 (now replaced by the wonderful D90), my next camera will be the D700 replacement.

Just bought D5000 for my GF and seems to be excellent choice. Nikon are doing £50.00 cash back to 10th Jan

im glad the d3000 rates highly, thats the one i have been looking at on amazon this morning.
is the d5000 worth the extra cash over the d3000?

The d5000 has nikons latest sensor in it (same as in the £1200 D300s). The d3000 has an older sensor (same as my D80 I think).
If I was buying I would DEFINATELY find the extra £100 or so for the D5000.
The new sensor has less noise at high ISO. This means you can shoot in low light without flash easier than with the D3000.

The d5000 has nikons latest sensor in it

It's a Sony sensor (most Nikon cameras use Sony sensors). The same sensor is used in the Sony a500 and Pentax K-x.

Take a look at the Sony a2xx, a3xx and a5xx series cameras. The big plus for Sony (and Pentax) is in-body anti-shake. The a5xx have very low noise sensors at high ISO (as CHB mentioned), if that's of interest.

Sony are doing a cash-back offer at the moment making them very good value.

Sounds like a good idea to me, if theres cashback!
Had stopped tracking the sharing of sensors etc, but I know that the D80 shared a sensor with a Sony from about the same time.
For me, I am now a died in the wool Nikon user. The wireless flash alone is enough to ensure I stay loyal to the system. Though for the OP this is not really a relevant feature (unless he buys a D90 and SB600).