A 44-year-old housewife should pocket £453 million as part of a divorce settlement from her estranged husband, a judge has ruled.

The award could be the biggest made by a divorce court judge in England.

Mr Justice Haddon-Cave concluded in a written statement on Thursday that the woman should get 41.5% share of a fortune worth over £1 billion.

He announced his decision after analysing the case at a private hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

The judge ruled the couple cannot be named, but had shared a home in Surrey.

The man, 61, worked as a London oil and gas trader before building up a fortune in the Russian energy business.

He claimed he had made a "special contribution" to the generation of wealth.

However the judge ruled the woman - who comes from eastern Europe and became a British citizen in 2000 - made "equal contributions to the welfare of the family".

Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said the woman contributed as a housewife and mother to the couple's now grown-up sons.

Rosie Schumm, a specialist lawyer at Forsters, said it was "impossible" to say whether the award was the "biggest" because disputes were often aired and finalised behind closed doors.

She said: "Whether or not this is indeed the biggest ever ... is impossible to say.

"This is partly because an increasing number of high net worth couples are electing for private divorce and arbitration where the proceedings and the details of the final settlement are kept entirely confidential."