Hello Delia,
Thanks for reply. No it most certainly wasn't as I have a 2 of those in my garden daily.
It was 100% a Pileated woodpecker, exactly as the pictures show online. It was almost the size of the seagulls here, bigger than my birdbox which was around 12 inches high by 8 inches wide and the wingspan when it flew off took my breath away, it was so big.
There are loads of pictures online of these and it can't be mistaken for the great spotted as it's so much bigger and the red mohican is a sight to see and very vibrant !!
I guess I'll never see one again.
I've read that they don't migrate which is why I've joined here as I can't understand why on earth it would be here. I'm now thinking it must have been an escaped pet or is someone breeding them here possibly, I have no idea but I can't think of any other explanation. The pictures online really don't show how beautiful it is in real life and it's one of those moments people have that stay with them forever