The player stopped before the end of side 1 last night & the motor started grinding so i powered it down took the disc out to inspect & except for a speck of dust couldnt find anything wrong so i fast forwarded to the spot & it played through ok. Could that tiny speck of dust have caused that or do i have a serious problem starting to develop?

Encountered that problem myself one time.
The little gear that drives the laser motor picked up a hair causing it to grip on the track.
I suspect it might be a small dust particle or a hair that got stuck around the mechanical part.

Thank You only if its serious do i want to send a player cross country for repair.

If it is working now just enjoy it. Cleaning the track and gears was the proper thing to initially do.