Ford Escort engine turns slowly but will not fire.

that sounds like,head gasket,or rings,or valves,you could have a partially ceased engine with over heating,this happend to me once on a 1990 escort,I drained the sump,got fresh oil,poured 1 pint at a time through your oil cap,and turned the engine over by hand ,by putting a socket on the crank,a couple of times,then more oil ,and so on,untill 5 pints,the engine started to ease off,then changed head gasket,bled the water system,and my car was fine,that was my car,your's could be better or worse,???

thankyou i will give it a try and let you know how i get on. thanks again.