A wife who lost the bulk of her divorce settlement by making "poor financial decisions" has been awarded larger monthly payments from her ex-husband despite calls from his lawyer for maintenance limits to reflect "social change".

Former estate agent, Maria Mills, 51, received a £230,000 lump sum in 2002, plus £1,100 monthly personal maintenance payments, when she split from her "reliable and truthful" 50-year-old husband, Graham Mills, after 13 years of marriage.

But she lost it all and fell heavily into debt, after investing "unwisely" in a series of ever more "upmarket" London properties in a bid to climb the housing ladder, a court heard.

Judges at London's Appeal Court have now ordered that Mrs Mills' monthly payments to be increased to £1,441 and told her ex-husband he must support her for life, because she is "unable to meet her basic needs".