Sorry guys, but I’m under strict orders from OH to stop (non-negotiable). in case I twist/damage the pipe in the wall and then we have a major problem.
I’ve chipped round (this tap was put in only 10 years ago Paul, so that’s why there’s the polyfiller round it) and yes, the join is in the wall.
No stopcock Stella. All we can do is turn off the whole house.
Not managed to find a hose cut off Graham strong enough to stop the leak.
All I can do is run the hose pipe down to our water tank and collect the water for the garden.
Unfortunately our wonderful plumber doesn’t live that close, so it’s not fair to call him out just for this. I’ll ask him if he could drop by when passing.
And no, I won’t be asking the plumber/electrician (French) who originally did the work to come back. We’re still struggling with some of the things he did. As mentioned elsewhere, this is one of those classic cases of non-communication. We didn’t know the questions to ask (like will there be a stopcock for this tap nearby?) and he volunteered nothing.
Thanks again for all your contributions
That “drip” looks like it could get through a lot of water in 24 hours.
That’s why I called it a dribble. 
Why not take the washer out and make sure its in correctly,
When you do get the plumber round… it would be well worth the extra to ask him to fit a stopcock somewhere inside, for this tap… in case of winter freezing conditions…
A burst tap/pipe is the last thing you would want…
best of luck
Would you care to suggest Frank how the washer could be in “incorrectly”?
some washers are flat and need to seat flat… some washers are shaped with up/down and need to seat correctly…
did you replace like for like… some are rubber, some fibre… is it the correct size (sorry if this sounds daft…)
Oh dear… OH is shouting encouragement from his armchair… 
As has just been pointed out, if this tap has leaked for a long time the seat could have erroded, this can be repaired by grinding the seat in again, for me just unscrew it out of the wall and replace it.
Oh my… OH has now bellowed about ceramic cartridges…
Was it truly a washer before… or does it need a new ceramic cartridge ??? (I’m only the messenger)
You would make a good live commentator for the Ligue des Champions matches, Stella, you catch that edge-of-the-seat will-he-won’t-he thrill of the Great Game to the most mundane situation of up-side, down-side, fibre vs ceramic washers and cunning off-side stopcock blinders etc.
Where do you get the energy, hic?
Have fun guys, I’m bowing out. 
Thanks to the earlier contributors I’ve got all the info I need and there’s no way I’m going to go any further which would just cause friction here. Not worth it for the price of a plumber’s time.
best of luck Sue… 
Difficult to get this wrong - BUT, if it needs more than 1/4 of a turn to turn on it is not a ceramic cartridge.