Posh Spice Victoria Beckham is rarely seen without stilettos... even when walking on a football pitch [Agencies]

Manolo Blahnik, the shoe designer who specialises in vertiginous heels, said: "This is wonderful news.

"I've been hounded for years about how bad it is for posture, but I always thought it was contradictory.

"Until my mummy was 87 she was wearing high heels and she looked wonderful. She is my living example that heels are good for you.

"When you put on a high heel it makes life more exciting.

"In the 1980s it was all about power, but today it's shifted; it's about elegance.

"If you are a woman, it's a way to appeal to the male species, it's a way to attract.

"And it works. I have men who tell me that heels have saved their marriage.

"I think there's a limit, though. Anything over four-and-a-half inches is just too much. You can't walk properly; it's no longer elegant."