Is it not the Hadlex that usually goes on these?

Are you going to do the diff yourself? I hear they can suffer from a bearing failure and there is an upgrade using a better bearing I also read it's a good idea to flush and re fill the Halden unit but you need to follow a procedure carefully if this is done.

Thanks to goonarmy and raywin.
Before i went for the diff bearings (which i was 99% sure was the fault). I first changed the wheels front to rear, as they were a different make. And the noise did not move to the front. Then i put in on 4 axle stands and drove it up listening with a long screw driver to the wheel bearings, prop bearings and confirmed the Diff bearings.
I have taken the diff unit out myself and split the Haldex, The oil in the haldex was only slightly grey ( so minimal clutch pack wear ) Will be replacing the Haldex filter and oil, and the diff is going off for Recon with upgraded bearings. I will report back with the results and if they are good I will mention the rebuild specialist.
The diff was out in 2.5 hours Working in a not so high garage. The hardest part was the propshaft bolts, ( once i realized i had to left one of the front wheels to get the prop to turn then i could get the air gun on them with an "airgun" U/J ). Did not even have to move the exhaust.
As a safety note I found it best to ratchet strap the diff to the trolley jack with a block of wood in between to stop it slipping/falling.

That's interesting, love to see some pictures of the whole process, I bought a FL 2 this year with only 13000 miles on it, but I have heard the bearings can give up at fairly low mileage on some vehicles.
I suspect I know the specialist a company beginning with B, be interested in your experience.
One thing I also have on my mind at the moment is tyres, I am thinking of fitting two new ones before winter going to put on the continental 4x4 ones as fitted from new. I was wondering if it is best to have the new tyres on the front or the rear, or if it matters at all, maybe the engineering specialist could give an opinion if this is important.

Are you referring to me as being the engineering specialist??
Yes I started as an apprentice mechanic in 1973 aged 16 and stayed in the game till 1996 (until my back gave in) , working on allsorts of cars in that time, but in all that time I don't ever remember working on 4X4's
So engineering specialist might be a bit of an overstatement.
"None of us can know it all".
As to your tyre question, I see that the Freelander 1 has to have all its tyres changed at once.
But I have not found a clear answer as to the Freelander 2.
Back in the day I was always told to fit the new tyres to the front where all the braking and steering is done, but in later years it seems the opposite, something about its better to loose control of the front of the car than the rear.
Apparently that's why cars have under steer designed in them.
Being old school and having rallied a MK2 escort in the past I prefer over steer.

Any way sorry not good at Photos,
I used a company called AB land rover in York (found them on ebay) for a few pence under £400 they arranged collection and re-delivery to and from my house, rebuilt the Diff supplied haldex and diff oil, all in 4 days.
The diff is now nice and quiet.
I cleaned out the Haldex unit and fitted a new filter. Before if I pulled out of a junction a bit quick I would hear a graunching noise from the rear, its now nice and quiet and the auto gear changes seem smoother and no more graunching noise .
The diff went back in with no problems and the haldex level rechecked easily.
SOME NOTES.
The offside drive shaft can be levered out easily but the nearside is harder as it is recessed, so with the offside one removed I just used a long thin punch through the centre of the diff to tap the nearside one out. (I discovered later that you can use a screw driver in the hole above the nearside drive shaft)
As I said before I left the exhaust on (but removal would make life easier).
I disconnected the rear hubs by just undoing the outer link arm bolts, Hand brake cable clamps and abs & pad warning wire clamps ( The Haynes manual says mark and remove the whole arms) I did not as although marked they never quite go back in same place causing the rear geometry to be out.
And don't forget when re-tightening the rear suspension to load it up first buy jacking it up under the hub until the car just starts to lift off the axle stands.

Sorry I think there's a bit of confusion, I thought you might be using Bell engineering who are specialist in these things, and I wondered if you may ask them, about tires but I see you used a specialist in York, handy to know they are there if I need them.
Glad it seems to have fixed the problem I did read that they have modified the diff with a stronger bearing and they re fit the new style when they get warranty cases, I think that Bell do this and they also specialize in Haldex repair and service, I saw something about changing the oil and filter in them but they mention that filling it needs to follow a special procedure.
I went to the LR dealer where I bought mine and asked about changing the tires they said "put the new ones on the back but many people prefer to put them on the front" so that didn't help much

I looked at Bell engineering and was impressed at there web site and professionalism, they also have good feed back on the various posts I've read. But I am a tight git and went for price, only time will tell how long the diff lasts, I don't do many miles and tend to get bored of a car after a couple of years.
I always fit new tyres to the front, but that's just me.

Update Time
The diff and haldex are still working fine and nice a quiet, I fitted the AVON ZX7's and the car was transformed, probably mainly because the old tyres were a mix of 3 different cheapies.
they are quiet and the road holding is great. With the others I had a moment when coming off the M1 slip road at Hemel Hempstead ( along sweeping right) at 50mph and the car went to break away so luckily there was room to turn and brake in a straight line to recover it, the new tyres are so much better. I've never had cheapies before and now never will

NOTE the Avon's I fitted were the 104V hot 108H. They are not M@S and by the look of them they would not be any good on mud and snow. but as a road tyre they are nice and quiet.
As for wear I'll have to wait and see.