Gear stick getting stuck - LS focus auto

[big-e]

Hi everyone, Just got my girlfriend an LS LX focus Auto hatch.
It has approx 105,000 on the clock.

The problem:
The gear stick gets stuck in 'D' sometimes and will not come out unless its "pushed" out to 'N'.
I tried to play around with it which made the movement of the stick "stickier" if thats the correct word, it just feels heavy as if it has to travel through mud to make a change.

Anyone seen this problem before?

[DZFord]

Yeah I've seen this happen - the silver, plastic upright part of the gear shifter dislodges and slips down (only by a few mm) into the shifter gate, which jams the mechanism.