Thread update…
Based on the early advise on this forum (now I see my mistake… 😉 ) I contacted my insurers and progressed a claim against the other driver. The car was collected, fixed (slowly) and returned. The other driver would not admit fault, so I payed out my excess and because I had legal cover I pursued the driver for costs. This meant a loss of NCB when renewing my insurance, so I stayed with my existing provider as it was ‘easier’. The claim never got to court, and now the other driver has now accepted liability and my excess (and NCB) have been returned. Tedious 6 months wait with some worry, but it turned out ok in the end.
Thanks.