First off your diesel hasn't got a carburettor, do you mean a fuel
feed to the injector? I don't think that is a very wise way of
bleeding the system. It is possible that you have a leak in the low
pressure side letting air in and thus the fuel is draining back to the
tank. Have you tried squeezing the manual priming bulb? Keep squeezing
until you feel resistance there will then be fuel in the system and it
should start. As for where the leak is, who knows? Check all the
connections and you might find it.

Phil:

Many Thanks for the advice.  If nothing, I prove how little I know
about cars.  I knew the diesel did not have a carbouretter, but had no
idea what to call it.

I do not use the car daily as I work away from home and the car is
parked at work for the week.  I needed to get the car going to get to
work on Sunday and will try to get it going to get back home on
Friday.  I just wondered if there was something simple I had missed,
although I suppose the AA guy would have told me.

I thought that if the fuel was not being fed into the engine it would
be because there was no fuel in the reservoir where the fuel filter
is, however, I checked and it was full.  So I just did what the AA man
had done (removed the fuel feed pipe) and kept turning the engine over
until it started.  I will not remove the pipe this week and will pump
and hopefully it will be easier.

Once home, I will check all the connections I can find and then
probably end up at the garage.

Once again.  Many Thanks
dw