Thanks for all the help everyone, however it appears this was a doomed exercise from the start. It turns out I have been provided with the wrong head unit and that the dash controls will never work with this unit regardless of any extra autoleads components.

As such I am booked in on Saturday with the local car audio specialist who will supply and fit something more appropriate. It seems that I should have just done this from the start!

 

This is one of the easiest mods there is to do and you should have no need to bok into the local stereo shop. Just make sure you actually read all the installation instructions and that all the parts work together. The fact that you thought of testing the fuse with an electrical screwdriver shows you don't have a lot of expierience ( one wonders what damage you may have done through this action) (you should pull the fuse and look at it, if the wire in it is broken it is no good) but if you take your time and RTFM you will be fine.

You can also try Modifry for a DCI (Dash Control Interface) unit if you are struggling with finding the right one.

 

One shouldn't worry too much, as there is no damage. Fuses have been checked and are fine, with the exception of the one in the back of the head unit (as suggested by an earlier post) Also, as said above, the head unit I have been provided does not actually support dash control (despite the vendor's assurances that it did) so despite me trying to follow the instructions to the letter it was never possible as the stereo does not have the correct connections at the rear.

I agree this should an easy mod, (assuming you are actually provided with the correct parts) otherwise I wouldn't have tried it myself. As I have to go to the the shop to get a replacement stereo I figured I would just have them do it whilst I was there to save any further hassle.

 

Given the hassle you've had so far, I reckon that's the best option all round