Freelander 1 Fuel pump and filter

I had a slight fuel leak and so I thought it would be a good time to change the fuel filter at the same time. The pipes leading to the pump are old and brittle so I will need to replace those but for now I just cut them back a touch. Still a slight leak I think though it's hard to tell as will become apparent.

Upon changing the filter (the filter and cylinder shaped electric pump are housing in a plastic holder that hooks onto the right hand side wing in the engine bay and is a bugger to reach) I screwed it into the plastic thingy that the fuel pipes clip into, hand tight. When it was all back together i turned on the ignition and let the pump work for about 10 secs then started the engine. It ran for about 30secs to a minute and then burst the rubber seal and prayed diesel everywhere (hence it's still hard to tell if I have a leak). I eventually put it all back together again after taking it all back off to sort it out, checking that the rubber seal on top of the fuel filter was seated properly and I did it up as tight as I could. It has held since and I am wondering if this is normal and they need to be tightened as much as that or if maybe the diesel fuel system is over pressurised?

Update Just turned into my street and it conks out. Turns out now that the fuel pump has given up the ghost. I took it off and put 12v to it and it just makes a slight clunk. Happy days hey? when I need it sorted by Friday for a caravan weekend. frantic two days coming up!