wow theres a big difference between the before and after haha, will be perfect once cleaned and fixed up. 
yeah i was really surprised at just how much the old seat base had broken up!!
there are metal bars underneath the side supports so i guess years of getting in an out of the car causes the foam to rub against the metal before finally breaking down
for anyone with Recaro's interested the part number is
1JO 881 375 P and retail is £53.54 but i got 10% so it cost me £48.19 - not cheap but well worth it if your base has seen better days