Okay folks, I have sorted it. I tried the Gatos method and no success. I understood the ijmorrison suggestion with the use of pliers but decided to be brave and go a step further. I watched a video online of a guy removing the door panel on a volvo v40 and it did not look too difficult. So I unscrewed all the holding points and found I did not have to detach the electrical box serving the window opener, door opener and side mirror adjustments. I could pull the door panel out by a couple of inches and have perfect access to the black plastic lug that pops up and down when the door is opened and closed. The lug was stuck in the DOWN position but this was not locked, it was open.
With pliers I pulled the lug up and felt the release of the mechanism. Everything had returned to normal, opening and closing and importantly, LOCKING was working again. Carefully put the panel back in position, making sure that the black lug can go up and down through the hole. Make sure you re-insert the ring around the lug to keep the lug free to go up and down smoothly. Enjoyed fixing this problem.
My car is a Volvo V40 1600 cc, purchased new on 27 July 2001 from Stratstone Volvo, Bristol Street, Birmingham. Have done 144300 miles. Registration Y402 BOK.
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