Very strong smell of fuel on 1.8

[Britain4]

Since it's potent in the engine bay, one would assume that it would be coming from a common source. Recheck your injector's , leak off pipes / rails and any braided fuel lines they are usually quite dubious. Also check your fuel filter to see if it's lose or leaking and finally check your fuel pump, tho it's uncommon on these engines your fuel pump seal might be on its way out.. but with lack of a leak it's hard to pinpoint as you say.

Yep it does seem to be coming from the engine bay although it's also very strong under the car. I'll just have a closer look at the rubber pipes for splits cracks etc then, maybe get someone to rev it to see if any leaks become apparent then?

Failing that I'll take it to my usual mechanic but I don't want to be spending as much as I paid for it.

is it leaking exhaust with risk of poisoning ?

Not as far as I can tell. It smells like raw fuel to me. It's also had a 'new exhaust' very recently - I don't know to what extent or how well fitted it was so I might get it up in the air and have a look.