Thanks for the concise form in which you post the steps you have taken and observations made during problem(s).
The sync and ready indicate downstream lock & upstream lock, if one were to be flashing you would simply lose connection to all Internet activities. The send and receive would be used to indicate traffic passing to and from the modem to the network.
Your son's laptop staying connected poses the question of how can it be a router issue.
To be 100% of knowing that it were a problem with the router or not I would test the theory by trying a direct connection to the modem, perhaps when your good lady wife has listened to her favorite broadcast.
xocemp-edit
You beat me to the post with your edit John
Would you click the link below and copy back the contents of the ping in your reply.
It may take a second to load the page.
http://tools.virginmedia.com/cgi-bin/ping.pl?bbc.co.uk
And then with the below link.
http://tools.virginmedia.com/cgi-bin...w.google.co.uk