Sounds like you took a hefty whack ... check your control arms too. This happened to me before and when we pulled the arm off it the hole was elongated from circular to oval ... while on the car the arm didn't look too bad, and would probably have passed a 'casual' inspection.
I presume you're in the UK (from pounds reference
) I think the last time I got an alignment I got it done for about 25 quid. Depends though on who you know, and where you are, and if they are a decent outfit.
