Hi – if I were in your shoes, I'd be looking at:
Honda Civic
Toyota Corolla
VW Polo/Golf
Skoda Fabia/Octavia (essentially VWs)
Seats Ibiza/Leon
and spending about £3-4000 and getting a 1.4 or bigger petrol, or diesel if the budget allows.
It seems like you're after advice on buying, my own tips are to do a HPI check (essential really), check for full service history (cambelts at about 60,000 miles) and drive a similar model for comparison before parting with cash. Good Luck! Oh and I'm sure that everybody will offer their scrutiny if you find something you're considering, just post it up!