 sortfn = sorttable.sort_alpha;
    for (var i=0; i<table.tBodies[0].rows.length; i++) {
      text = sorttable.getInnerText(table.tBodies[0].rows[i].cells[column]);
      if (text != '') {
        if (text.match(/^-?[£$¤]?[\d,.]+%?$/)) {
          return sorttable.sort_numeric;
        }
        // check for a date: dd/mm/yyyy or dd/mm/yy 
        // can have / or . or - as separator
        // can be mm/dd as well
        possdate = text.match(sorttable.DATE_RE)
        if (possdate) {
          // look