Heather demands £10,000 a day 'just to get by'

Heather Mills is demanding £10,000 a day as part of her bitter divorce pay-off from Sir Paul McCartney.

The former model is considering a "high-speed" settlement with her estranged husband with a minimum cash payout of £3.5 million a year - for a total of at least £40 million.

Mills, 39, has calculated the amount after drawing up a list of her annual cash commitments and says she needs the money to "get by".

But Sir Paul looks set to reject the offer, claiming he is not worth as much as everyone thinks he is.

One of the singer's friends said: "It's amazing. When you consider her humble beginnings, £10,000 a day is a phenomenal sum to cover her needs. It's as much as some Premiership footballers earn. Many people have to work a year for what she wants to bank in a day.

"Heather is making extremely large demands considering the brevity of the marriage.

"Paul wants to be as generous as possible but the trouble is his fortune has been grossly exaggerated."

The 64-year-old former Beatle has argued that he is worth "considerably less" than the £825 million fortune he has been alleged to be possess. The couple's bitter divorce battle saw them to come face-to-face last week as they appeared three times in the High Court.

It was hoped that they might split in a "quickie divorce" which would avoid both appearing in court, but the hearings could now drag on for months and possibly into next year.

Leaked divorce papers showed Ms Mills claims that Sir Paul poured wine over her, stabbed her arm with a broken wine glass, pushed her over a coffee table and shoved her over into a bath when she was pregnant with their daughter Beatrice. Sir Paul has denied all the claims.