hi BenWard ,
i dont know exact solution for your problem but try with this
pls replace this £ symbol with '£' word at php side and send these results to your webpage through AJAX as it is it will produce the currency symbol as you expected
i am not sure but its work fine
let me know the status
have a great day
go through this URL it gives better clarification
http://webdesign.about.com/od/localization/l/blhtmlcodes-cur.htm
note : comments are appreciated