You are looking to gain a licence which will take between 14 and 18 months, with possible additional courses, costing as has been said a great deal of money. You've found the right place for advice, and you should go and find out if you really want to fly before commiting to such a course, which is in difficulty and depth probably comparable to accountancy exams, though of course a flair for being able to cope with the pressures if the flying itself and airborne exams is also required.
There are no sponsorships from airlines at the moment (they are not on-the-job like apprenticeships: you will go to a flying school and be there for the whole time) and you are not employed by the airline for that time - you are simply committed to return 5 years or so of your time to that which paid for the training, while deducting money from your salary. There are very few full sponsorships of this kind and in a downturn such as now, you may not even be offered a job at the end of it and be left high and dry. You are just about too old for the British Airways course, but you will still qualify for others.
Other airlines will 'bond' you for a type-rating on a specific aircraft type: this would normally be for a slightly lessor period, but bear in mind you will have paid for your own course up until that point (ie the initial licence course of 14-18 months) and be in competition with many other fully-qualified pilots to get this, many of which may have more experience or be qlready qualified to fly this type of aircraft.
Getting a first job is probably the highest hurdle, and you may have to find other work while waiting for success, even at the best of times.
Regarding the medical: a class 1 is required for the full licence required for airlines; a class 2 is required for the 'private pilot's licence' or PPL: so you must check to see if you can get the higher one before spending any other money. It has to be obtained from the authority's HQ at Gatwick, for £400 (corrected).
Best of luck
[ 21 February 2002: Message edited by: Lucifer ]</p>