Robbie's 5ft angel

Robbie Williams' mother has revealed the inspiration behind his hit song 'Angels' - a 5ft high statue.

The heartthrob singer picked up a prestigious Brit award on Wednesday night (09.02.05) for the track after it was voted Best Song of the Last 25 Years by UK radio listeners.

The inspiration behind the emotional ballad has been a mystery, but mum Jan Williams claims the words are about a gold-plated angel statuette, situated in Robbie's home town of Burslem, in Staffordshire, that her son believed was his "guardian angel".

She said: "Robert loved that angel - he'd stand and stare at it. When he went to bed he'd look at it and say his guardian angel was looking after him. It was lovely I'm sure it was on his mind when he wrote the lyrics."

Meanwhile, Robbie has been slammed by Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, who claims he should never have won the prestigious honour because he didn't write the song.

Noel was among a host of stars, including Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant, who said they were surprised and disgusted by the 'Rock DJ' star's accolade.

The rocker claims Robbie should have credited the true songwriter Guy Chambers - who Williams astonishingly snubbed when he collected his gong - when he gave his acceptance speech.

Noel, who sparked a long-running spat with the 30-year-old singer after he branded him "the fat dancer from Take That", said: "If 'Angels' is the best song of the last 25 years then let the people who actually wrote it to be acknowledged."