Thanks for all the feedback, looking at the photos kindly posted by Nicholas at
http://albinballad.multiply.com/photos/album/99, my Ballads mast step doesn't look anywhere near as bad as this (and it looks like a different configuration all together, so it may have already been replaced). I'll have a good poke around the mast step, take some photographs to show you fine people, and then stop worrying!
Thanks again all, happy Ballading (hope you are having better sailing weather than we are having in the UK at present!)