hotpoint WT741 leaking?

i have a hotpoint WT741 which i bought 1 month ago and have used without any problems until 1 day it decided to leak on fill. water just appeared to be pouring straight from the drum. i took off the rear lower inspection panel and saw that the element was just hanging from the back of the drum and therefore left a large hole. there doesn't appear to be anything holding the element in place and there was nothing left on either the floor or the inside of the machine to suggest that there ever was. has anyone else experienced this. i also assume that i have messed up my warranty by trying to detect the problem myself.
any thoughts

patrick spiller
March 2008