The Rolling Stones guitarist took Brazilian architecture student Ana Araujo, 30, out to London's trendy Sloane Square, where he footed the bill as they spent four hours browsing upmarket boutiques before stopping for coffee.

A source told the Daily Star newspaper: 'They were walking along like a couple of school kids holding hands and whispering to each other.

'They went into a cafe and sat at a cosy table for two for coffee – which Ronnie paid for. They were gazing into each other's eyes and seemed to be having a lot of fun.'

The spending spree comes a week after Ronnie, 62, was pictured meeting up with his ex-girlfriend Katia Ivanova - who dumped him in December after a series of drunken arguments – sparking rumours they would reconcile.

But Katia, 21, has played down their meeting, saying Ronnie – who has entered rehab on a number of occasions to battle alcoholism - only wanted to apologise to her.

She said: 'We had always agreed that we'd see each other again, but I didn't think Ronnie was ready before. I thought he'd stare at me too lovingly. But he was in the area and I thought we might as well get it over and done with.

'Nothing physical happened. We only hugged. I showed him around my flat. A couple of my friends were also there so it wasn't that intimate.'

Katia explained he had told her about his new relationship with Ana, and that it was 'going well'.

She added: 'He said it was going well with Ana, even though I still think she is too young for him. I don't think he's sexy any more but we're both on the right path now.'