Heather Mills laughed off Paul McCartney's original $6 million offer

Heather Mills' legal team reportedly "laughed off" former 'Beatles' star Sir Paul McCartney's original offer of $6 million in their divorce settlement.

McCartney, who split from Heather in May 2006 following a four-year marriage - was allegedly advised to initially offer a small portion of of his £825 million ($1.65 billion) fortune, but Heather's legal team "laughed off" the sum and demanded £25 million ($50 million).

A source told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "Paul, on the advice of his lawyer Fiona Shackleton, originally offered Heather between £3 and £5 million. But there was no way Heather's legal team were going to accept that.

"Heather's lawyer Anthony Julius laughed off the sum and decided to play hard ball, he knows how Shackleton works. There has been serious wrangling going on behind the scenes for months. This is the closest they have been to settling."

Heather is refusing to sign a confidentiality clause, which would prevent her from speaking about their marriage.

Her lawyers are now urging her to accept Paul's generous $50 million offer in return for her silence.

The source added: "It's unlikely a judge would award Heather any more money and her lawyers know that. It's a very generous settlement. They were only married for four years and he built up the bulk of her fortune before they met.

"She can walk away now, knowing she can start getting on with her life."

Heather is expected to accept the offer by the end of the week.

Paul is understandably anxious to hammer out the divorce deal in private and avoid an expensive and potentially embarrassing public court hearing.