A dig at each other is of irresistible temptation for split couples, and Heather Mills, Paul McCartney's estranged wife, is no exception.

On Friday, Heather stuck the knife into Paul McCartney after the pop legend refused an autograph for a fan, media reported Monday.

The fan tried to get McCartney to sign an original copy of the 1968 White Album as the 65-year-old turned up for the fifth day of hearings at the High Court seeking to agree to a divorce deal.

But distracted McCartney said that he was sorry but he was unable to sign anything while he was going into court.

The disappointed fan--identified only as Joe, a 50-year-old driver from East London--then turned to Heather, who seized on the opportunity to have a go at her ex-husband after learning of the "snub."

She told Joe acidly: "You should have told him that people like you and those records made him who he is today." She then gave him her autograph "To Joe, with all my love" before marching into London's High Court.

McCartney and Mills announced an amicable split in 2006 after four years of marriage, but relations have since deteriorated.

Their divorce deal could be the highest divorce settlement in Britain, outstripping the US$94-million businessman John Charman was told to pay his former wife last year.

(Agencies via Xinhua February 19, 2008)