Leaking front shock absorber

While I was swapping my alloys over last week I noticed that the front nearside shock absorber (RHD vehicle) had some ‘misting’ on the lower section, just under the dust cover indicating that the shock absorber has started to fail and leak. So far the handling doesn’t seem to have been affected but with the MOT looming in the near future and most importantly of all the safety of the vehicle and passengers in mind I’ve been on the hunt for replacement shocks. There seems to be a bewildering amount of shock absorbers available from parts suppliers and equally, a lot of opinion as to what the ‘best’ shock absorber is, so for now at least, the hunt goes on.
I’m hoping to get them sorted by the end of the week, write-up to follow!