Since I can’t edit my post above.
File permissions checked twice all 777
I’m root owner on the ftp
I’ve deactivated all my plugins and tried different combinations of active ones
I’ve changed the upload settings from organising into month/year folders as that is the only setting left to edit relating to images.
I still get the error.
I’ve got my husband on the case now, he just tried 2 htaccess tweeks from some of the suggestions on wordpress support and a few ideas of his own and neither of them worked either.
The only way I can get an image up at the moment is to manually upload via ftp, which of course would mean manually resizing all the images. (not an ideal situation)
He’s still looking into it but I’m preparing for a fresh reinstall.