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I have in my garden, what I was told, is a Worcesterberry. What I was
not told was when to pick them. My gardening books are quite old and
make no mention of them.
A Worcesterberry is a small, purple, very thorny, disease resistant
gooseberry, probably a 'tamed' version of the original wild gooseberry.
Not to be confused with the Jostaberry, which is a cross between a
gooseberry and a blackcurrant. [Joanna Readman - 'Fruity Stories']

At the moment there are fruits ranging from green, through red, to dark
red and onto almost black.
That is correct, they tend to ripen unevenly.

Experimentation shows that picking the very dark red ones is relatively
easy, the black ones seem to tear the skin rather than snap off from the
stalk as one would expect. Could some one please advise when is the best
time to pick?
If you leave them until they are fully ripened, i.e. black, the birds
will probably have them first. We picked about 4 lbs. of them today in
all colours from green to black. We have the splinters to prove it :-(

The plant is also very vigourous, with lots of new growth, spreading the
bush further than I want it. Is it safe just to cut back the new growt,
either now or in the autumn/
Cut back some of the new growth after harvesting the fruit, but remember
that the best of next year's crop will come on this year's new wood.
Very old stems can be taken out complete to let some air into the bush.

One final request, slightly outside this newsgroup, any one any good
reciepes for using them? I am assuming that I can stew them with a
little water and sugar, but would be interested in other uses and
combinations.
Use as for gooseberries. They freeze well and are good for winemaking.

--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.