Thanks for the update matey. We rarely hear about them once we've sorted them out. So thanks for that.OK - Update:
The patio tiles were loose, what's more they were definitely cemented in. They all lifted without any difficulty as they were not stuck.
Had a massive job filling all the 3-5 cm deep hollows in the cement matrix (we used outdoor leveller + sharp sand as we needed it to set quickly in this colder weather).
Then re-laid the tiles.
It took two of us 6 days (I used a tiler I know and paid day rate, so I had expert help). Total job cost me 6 days of my time plus nearly £2k for labour and materials!
Ouch!
The job is done, and I am grateful for the advice given on this thread as it means it is done properly.
Any pictures of it done?