Thanks for your responses. I think what concerns me most is the clutch going on a car with 47k miles on it. The last 2 cars I had (both bought 2nd-hand) had 100k and 75k on the clock when I moved on, with me putting about 45k on each. There was never a clutch problem with either, so I don't think its my driving that's caused this.
Does anyone know if its particularly unusual for a clutch to go with mileage under 50k? Or can a clutch-rider cause this problem in a relatively short space of time?