Bit of a weird one and I think I know the reason but I'd like some advice before I go heading off in possibly the wrong direction...

The car is a S2 '87 79,800 miles. last serviced at 76,000 by power engineering in 1999!!!!

Its been standing for most of the last 7 years by the looks but has been moved now and then and obviously has only covered 3,800 miles in 7 years or so...

It had a full tank of optimax at the weekend and has covered 250 careful miles since... without any problems...

Anyway I'm sitting at the traffic lights tonight and there's this weird whining noise starts which seems like its coming from under the bonnet (may be not) it had a little cough/splutter then ran fine for the next 5 mins to my house...

Parked it up on the drive went in the house to open the garage, tried to start again.. nothing... just keeps winding over....get an initial 1 second cough/splutter as though its going to start then nothing...

I'm thinking either...
Fuel pumps fecked as can't hear it kick in when the ignition is on (but to be honest the clifford does the central locking and you cant hear much else but the door locks anyway)
or
shit in the fuel line sucked up from the tank??

but where to start ???