Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 diesel 1998,wont start?

About a week ago it started firing up then cutting out and the engine management light would flash repeatedly,i turned the ignition off then back on and it started up again and ran fine,this would happen every now and again but by switching off and on seemed to cure it?Then the yesterday it happened again,only this time turning off and on did nothing,the light continued to flash and wouldnt start,if i turned the ignition on without tryin to turn it over,the engine management light comes on solid,you hear the pump kick in then it starts flashing and wont start,but if i turn it over before the light flashes it fires up and then dies when the light starts to flash?Its really annoying because it is at 167000 miles and had no problems except the tracking,starts everyday,straight away,drives fine,is in good condition,etc,ive had the car for a year and iam buying a van next month as iam a window cleaner,thing is,i need it to run for me just for a few more weeks then she can go to someone else or vectra heaven,lol...Any help would be apreciated,if nothing can be done by myself it looks like the garage it is,but a cheap no/low outlay would be better...cheers.