Okay so we actually had to GRIND the old CV joint off. Neighbour is a TVR mechanic, ex. Land Rover mechanic who has a number of old battered 4x4's and he said it's the most stuck one he's ever seen. All sorted eventually! You know you've had a hard job when replacing all of your brake gear in the dark by iPhone light is relaxing.
For the record, to actually get the axle out from the hub, we ended up succeeding with a punch and a massive hammer to the center of the axle. Only do this if you are replacing the whole CV joint, not just the boot as we destroyed the threads. Threading the bolt back on to the end just destroyed the bolt, didn't come close to knocking it out.
Here are the culprit brake pads. One side had seized into the metal holders. Make sure you apply some anti-seize to the mounting points on the pads and the back of the pads to stop the same thing happening and reduce squeal.
