I have 3 different mail accounts which i have consolidated under Apple 'Mail'. whenever I log in it proceeds to download hundreds of emails each time to the extent that my disk (the largest you can buy and the computer is only 4mths old) is now full

i took my computer to the genius bar at a store last time this happened and after about 30mins they found a 'hidden' file that held thousands and thousands of old emails, which they deleted. Unfortunately I didnt see where they found it so I could do the same again. i have gone directly into my email accounts and deleted everything over 12mths old so there are limited amounts (7,000) that 'Mail' should be able to download, but that doesnt sem to make a difference. any ideas?

You issue is probably with your email provider. You should check the settings for each account and somewhere you will be able to set it for something like: Delete mail after X days. If you are using  POP mail you can find this setting in Mail Preferences - Accounts - Advanced and look for Remove copy from server after retrieving message and then set the toggle.
BTW if no one on this forums knows where the "hidden file" you are referring to is then please repost in the Lion forum, that is where most Mail related questions should go. The reason being is Mail is considered part of OS X.
Good luck.

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