this may seem inbecilic to ask but i will anyway.....what should i check on my 06 s60 to make sure this doesnt happen - just the rear brake shoes?

Yes - friction material comes away from backing and causes much mayhem

Sorted, the cable had not snapped. Just shot back up in the outer sheath with half of the acuater which did snap! Got it back by shoving it from inside the car behind the handbrake lever. Fitted the stop repair kit. Got away without needing a new hub! Phew.

scary scary moment
 

well after reading some of the horror stories about handbrakes i decided to take my 2003 S60 D5 to the garage this morning as the handbrake was pointing vertically and doing f@*k all to hold the car. On initial test the passenger side was working but the drivers side was doing very little. on inspection the linings were fine with no sign of delamination, the drums had a bit of a rim to them which cleaned up no problems. the real shocker was that on the passenger side (working side???) the spring for the bottom shoe was caught in the spring for the top shoe which left the whole assembly loose. the mechanic said he was surprised that the whole thing was even working on that side. So new shoes and fitting kit ordered, discs and pads all fine, just waiting to find out about the handbrake cables for the fault on the drivers side. All I can say is i will be checking this and taking the advice to replace the shoes when the discs and pads need doing. thank the lord for this forum.

*update* picked her up this morning, 3 clicks locked in tight, still got the usual slight dropback but then my drive is at 30 degree slope, ish. so he completely serviced the whole rear brakes inc calipers etc greased handbrake cables, fitted new shoes and fitting kit, £125 all in, very pleased and cheap for the peace of mind its giving me. Now to investigate blanking that EGR thingy.

Blanking the EGR is illegal. The particulates thrown out from oil burning engines are a primary cause of heart attacs and lung disease. Don't make things any worse while you are saving CO2 emissions.

My old S70 and now my 2006 V70 have both had the friction material come off the rear shoes .
I find that I just replace the shoes every time I change the discs .

I had the aluminium stop that is part of the hub carrier snap off on the V70 after the car became imobile when left parked for 3 weeks . I managed to G clamp the broken piece back on and drill it out , then thread it , counter drill the broken section to allow an allen head bolt to be used .
I found if I did one bolt first and then tightened it up properly , it helped to hold the entire plot dead on for the second bolt drilling . It's worked fiune for the last few years . In saying that , the handbrake on this model of V70 are not very good with no adjustment bar .

When you are in there get the adjusters and fit them.
Number 17 & 18
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...psd7be8049.jpg

Here they are fitted.

http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7ib1euvs.jpg

^^^^ just like on my 850, wonder why they stopped fitting them as standard.....

Like most things now ,made to a price I would guess.