Getting loads of Open error 5's when using Terminal to repair permissions
I found a (quite easy) way to recover the contents of my HDD. 

1) I got myself the MBP from my nephew.
2) Connected it with a FireWire cable to mine.
3) Booted our MBP up in Target Disk Mode (press 'T' when booting up)
4) Our MBP then behaved like any external storage device and the files could copied off just like that.

In that way i got all the important files, photos, and projects of the lady. Hopefully this can help people in the future if they are having similar issues.