Paul and Heather in furious festive bust-up over Macca's £15,000 presents for Beatrice

It may be the season of goodwill - but relations between Heather Mills and Sir Paul McCartney have reached a new low.

The pair - who split 18 months ago - had a series of spectacular fights over Christmas, the first when they met to exchange Beatrice, their four-year-old daughter.

Miss Mills, who owes her former divorce lawyers £2million ($4 million), accused her estranged husband of stringing out the settlement talks to "starve her out".

She also claimed he was trying to buy his daughter's affection by showering her with £15,000 ($30,000) of Christmas gifts.

And she warned that the divorce hearing could turn nasty, even threatening to move to the U.S. with Beatrice.

Sources close to the McCartney family said the arguments had made for a miserable Christmas.

"It all started off at the handover of Beatrice," one told the Mail. "Paul said to Heather, in what she evidently thought was a sarcastic tone, 'Happy Christmas'.

"Heather replied, 'Happy f***ing Christmas?'. And with that, she laid into him - saying she thought he'd ruined Beatrice's Christmas by not settling the divorce by now.

"She told him that she was on the edge, at her wits' end and really feeling under pressure financially." The source said Sir Paul had advised Miss Mills to raise money by remortgaging the £3.5million house he had bought for her. "It was at that point that Heather started pleading with him that she was desperate for it not to go to court, because she couldn't afford good lawyers. She said that it could turn very nasty if that happened.

"Paul came back saying it had all gone too far to go back now.

"He criticised her again for that notorious rant on GMTV, saying that broke the agreement they had."

The pair found themselves raking over familiar ground - increasingly vocally, said the source.

"Heather came back telling him he was just trying to starve her out.

"She was ranting. saying how mean he was being in the so-called season of goodwill. Tensions flared up again when Beatrice received her presents from her father."

The Mail has learned that she was given a top-of-the-range sound system, a karaoke machine, a miniature car, Barbie dolls, dress outfits, a large selection of classical and pop CDs, an electric guitar and a keyboard player.

"Heather felt that Paul had really gone to town on the presents just to show her up," added the source.

"Against Heather's presents of books about natural history and clothes and some pretty, girly things for her, Paul's presents really stood out."

The source said Miss Mills also felt that Sir Paul's choices were inappropriate.

"She was saying what a terrible role model Barbie was for Bea.

"And she was saying how annoyed she was that Paul appeared to be trying to push her into music.

"The truth of it, of course, was more likely that Paul just wanted to make it a Christmas to remember for Bea."

Awkward encounter: Heather handing over Beatrice to Sir Paul during the summer as part of their agreed custody agreement.

Miss Mills, the source said, hit back by suggesting she might want to move with Beatrice to the U.S. - where offers "have been pouring in".

The source added: "Heather knows how to push Paul's buttons."

Miss Mills is also said to have brought into the discussion her urgent need for hip surgery, which might delay their divorce proceedings.

The couple are due to go to court in February unless they settle before then.

Spokesmen for both Miss Mills and Sir Paul would not comment last night.

(Source: dailymail)