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The ex-wife of a multi-millionaire told a judge she feels “insecure when I venture out of Kensington” in a High Court battle over a £5 million house.

The woman said she required a £10 million payout to meet her “reasonable needs”, including a five-storey house worth almost £5 million, after telling a divorce court she could not possibly live outside the neighbourhood.

She told divorce judge Mrs Justice Roberts that she felt “frightened” when she left the wealthy west London area, and rejected suggestions that she could move to a cheaper home in “less opulent” Shepherd’s Bush or Battersea.

But the judge rejected the pleas of the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, telling her she “needs to explore different areas”.

The woman’s ex-husband was given his £33 million fortune by his father, and is said to have spent large sums on hobbies including motor racing, flying and sailing, as well as a £540,000 helicopter.

The couple married in 1997 but split in 2008, with the wife receiving an £8 million payout. The couple still share ownership of the £5 million house, but the husband wants to sell it. The woman returned to court this year saying she has only £4.6 million left and wants full ownership of the Kensington house — as well as more money from her ex-husband.

In her ruling, Mrs Justice Roberts accepted that Kensington is “an exclusive and sought-after residential location” but said the alternative £2.5 million homes put forward by the husband were in “respectable and established family residential areas”.

“Even allowing for the fact that she clearly has an anxious personality, I am not persuaded that any of these areas can be characterised as unsafe or inappropriate, devoid of the kind of amenities usually associated with areas occupied by professional families and others,” she said.

“I would take a great deal of persuading that the alternative houses were in areas where either the wife or the children would be put at any greater risk in terms of their physical safety and comfort than the properties in Kensington.

“I am entirely persuaded that a step down in her accommodation needs at that juncture is both necessary and appropriate.”

The judge also ordered that the husband pay a £1.15 million top-up to his ex-wife.