By BEN TODD

By BEN TODD

I want to hold your hand: Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell stroll down the beach in Anguilla during their New Year holiday


For a former Beatle on the beach, this was clearly a good day. And there was plenty of sunshine.

To escape our winter, Sir Paul McCartney and his girlfriend, American heiress Nancy Shevell, 50, have been enjoying a New Year break on the exclusive Caribbean island of Anguilla.

The pair, who have been together for more than three years, appeared blissfully happy as they walked hand-in-hand along the beach. Sir Paul - dressed in checked beach shorts - also spent time playing American football with other holidaymakers.


Arm in arm: Despite the obvious affection between the couple, aides have stressed that are not engaged and marriage is not on the cards


Miss Shevell – wearing a floral summer dress – and McCartney have been spending increasing amounts of time together in recent months.

Indeed, she recently brought her father Myron ‘Mike’ Shevell, 74 - a widowed multi-millionaire industrialist - to London to meet the music legend.

The former Beatle continues to live in England – splitting his time between his London and East Sussex homes – while Miss Shevell still resides in the U.S.

Nevertheless, she and McCartney – who has vowed to stay close to daughter Beatrice, seven - regularly travel across the world to spend time together.


Fun and games: The former Beatle shows off his throwing arm as he joined in with American football played by fellow holidaymakers


A friend of the star told the Mail recently: ‘They're really happy together. They’re very well matched. They criss-cross the Atlantic to see each other, with Nancy flying over a lot.’

The pair first met in the Hamptons, where Macca has a house. And there have long been rumours the pair were close to announcing their engagement.

However, aides have been at pains to insist the star and Miss Shevell - herself a divorcee - are not engaged.


Carefree: The couple have been dating for three years and have spent more time together in recent months than previously, despite Sir Paul's jet-setting lifestyle


‘They get on so well – but marriage isn’t an issue to them at the moment,’ the friend told the Mail.

Macca’s first wife Linda - who he wed in 1969 - died from breast cancer in 1998.

He then married model and charity campaigner Heather Mills in 2002 before their acrimonious divorce in 2006 in which she received a settlement of £24.3million.

Before marrying Linda, he also had a short-lived engagement with actress Jane Asher.

He had been dating Miss Asher since 1963 before they became engaged in December 1967. However, the relationship ended less than a year later.


Paul McCartney Ob-la-di, Ob-la,da / Back in the U.S.S.R. / Let It Be Argentina 2010


source: dailymail