Gill,
I have an Ariston that did exactly the same thing - we got a wachine machine repair man in, and he replaced the drain pump fro £85 and all is well. I suspect it was something to do with the drain pump filter getting blocked, and over loading the pump, so it couldn't drain quick enough. So it would start spinning even though it hadn't drained properly - hence water spewingout of detergent drawer!
james
June 2007