ebay mate, i was in the same boat as you last year, picked up a canon 30d and a mid range zoom lens for about £280 bought seperatly, just take your time , do your research and wait for the right camera at the right price to appear,
i went for the 30d because as a camera it is ideal to learn with and has all the facilities to enable you to progress as far as you want with it, in terms of controls and being able to shoot in raw etc, dont let the fact that it is only 8 mp put you off, the reality is, 8 mp is fine for the standard computer and you wont really need any more unless you decide trying to have you pictures published or have them blown up to say an A4 print, by which time technology will have moved on and you will probably be able to buy a 1D mark 4 for a £100 because its only 20 something mp,
the lens is the important bit, this will make or break your pictures so like the camera make sure you get the right one for you and then enjoy !