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@dooks
you sure it's knackered not just in need of a bit of attention? he must have really gone to town on it.
in general too high action could any one of three things or a combination of all three:
nut height - adjustable by filing the slots or sanding the bottom of the nut. if the actions's too high at the nut, do this!
bridge height - same as for the nut but effects the overall action more. same "you can take away but you can't add it back" caution advised as when sanding... although a new nut or bridge only costs a couple of quid so hardly a disaster of you do overdo it.
neck relief - adjustable by the truss rod set inside the neck which counteracts the bowing of the neck caused by the pull of the strings. it's adjustable by the dreaded allen key. although it really shouldn't be that dreaded. if the action's too high in the middle of the neck (but not at the nut) your neck relief needs flatterning out a little. try tightening it a quarter turn at a time. slacked the strings and re-tune after adjustment and give it bit of time to settle in. shouldn't be too scary. tightening it flattens out the neck, loosening it allows the strings to bow it more.
hope that helps a bit.
Balls. I forgot I'm capitalising now.