Clio 1.6 1999 Power steering suddenly heavy and engine drains of power

Hi there,



I'm a relatively new driver and have had my Clio for about 7 months with only minor problems. The car is in very good condition with only 52,000 on the clock.



This morning I de-iced the car and started the engine, went to drive off and as I approached a corner or junction suddenly the steering became really heavy and at the same time when slowing the car in 2 nd gear, it came to a standstill and stalled about 3 times in the space of 1 mile.



I would start the engine back up and the steering was fine. Parked up fine.



So intermittently the power-steering seems to stop working and the engine will stall. I'm sure that the fluid is topped up because I only looked about a week ago. I have read forums and other have suggested that it happens when the car is cold - the steering has done this before - only once and but only V briefly, before it stopped and I forgot about it.



Has anyone got any suggestions? Of course I will take it to the garage, but I was wondering if there is anything obvious that I can do to fix??



Thanks in advance.



Charlotte