Robbie in hot water in OZ for smoking on stage

He has famously battled addictions to drugs and alcohol, but now Robbie Williams is in trouble for refusing to stub out his latest vice.

The one time badboy of pop was fined about £120 for smoking on stage at a non-smoking concert in Australia.

But it seems snubbing anti-smoking laws is not enough to resurrect the cheeky pop star's hard-man image. He is being backed by the very respectable Peter Beattie, the leader of Australia's Queensland state, where Robbie lit up onstage on two consecutive nights.

Mr Beattie said: "I'll be paying the fines myself because I don't want to see this turned into an opportunity to continue to promote that bad-boy image."

Robbie was criticised by health groups for smoking a cigarette in front of more than 50,000 fans at his opening Brisbane concert at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.

Despite being warned over flouting the non-smoking policy he lit up again at last night's concert, telling fans smoking was his only remaining vice.

He told the crowd he had heard about the controversy but said he was not a role model.

Instead he sarcastically praised Australian cricketing "role model" Shane Warne for his clean-living lifestyle, which drew a loud call of "Warney" from the stands.

The Queensland Cancer Fund has labelled Robbie, 32, a "very bad boy," while a spokesman for Health Minister Stephen Robertson said he was sending the wrong message to children.

But Mr Beattie scuppered Robbie's chances of increasing his street cred when he praised him for coming to Australia instead of ticking him off.

He said: "He is a guest of Queensland. He came here, entertained a lot of Queenslanders and put a lot of money into the Queensland economy."

Robbie's on-stage smoking antics are nothing compared to those of rebel Pete Doherty. He and girlfriend Kate Moss got in trouble for lighting up at a gig in Dublin in September.

If prosecuted the pair could face a fine of around £2,000, but so far no one has offered to pay the fine for them.