A hospice has had to cancel a talk in the city by Paul McCartney's ex-wife, Heather Mills, due to poor ticket sales.

The Dancing on Ice contestant and former model was set to be paid £3,000 to speak about her life and work at a dinner at the Premiership Suite at the Tigers' ground in Welford Road, Leicester.

It was hoped the event on September 29 would raise hundreds of pounds for the city's Loros hospice.

But with only about a third of the 300 £45 tickets sold, the event threatened to end up losing the Groby Road hospice money.

Those who bought tickets will be contacted and given a refund.

The charity said it would not now have to pay Ms Mills anything, but would have to pay a cancellation fee to the rugby club, which has yet to be confirmed.

Diane Morris, fund-raising manager at Loros, said: "We sold just over 100 tickets but it wasn't enough to break even and as we got nearer to the event, the cancellation charges would be an issue so we made the decision to cancel now.

"Heather Mills was going to talk about her life and the challenges she's faced and also have a question-and-answer session at the end.

"She's raised a lot of money for charity and I'm sure it would have been very interesting.

"The people who have booked will have been very disappointed and we're sorry to let down people who wanted to support us. We don't take these decisions lightly."

Ms Mills, who is a United Nations Association Goodwill Ambassador, was to be joined by TV presenter Arti Halai for the talk, which was expected to cover many issues close to Ms Mills's heart.

The former model, who lost part of her leg in a road accident in 1993, has campaigned against landmines for 15 years and raised millions of pounds for anti-landmine charities.

She married the former Beatle, Paul McCartney, in 2002, four years after his first wife, Linda, died of breast cancer. The marriage ended in 2008 when Ms Mills won a £24.3 million divorce pay-out.

She gives "motivational" talks about her rise from humble beginnings and about overcoming the adversity of the road accident.

Her official website states: "A life as rich and diverse as Heather's brings a human element to any topic, and makes a refreshing change from your typical podium-hanging, paper rustling speaker.

"Heather has learned how to turn the most negative of situations into the most productive."

The Mercury e-mailed Ms Mills' representatives yesterday, but had no response.