Wow jordan you're an icon, brilliant thanks.
Well, I've drawn the circuit and was about to scour the data sheets but decided to check for any updates here first.
Funny it took the chip, blew the decoupling cap. C1, 100u 25V on the 12V but didn't take the K fuse (1.5A).
Thank you jordan, we'll try the chip and see how it goes from here.
Best regards, Dave