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Shane told the Sunday Mirror they were originally called "Ugh" because they were so UGLY. In fact, he says the sheepskins which he used to make the first boots still had bits of sinew and even meat attached.

If they ever got wet they would smell awful and if a dog got a sniff of them they would usually end up as its dinner.

Shane made the boots for 10 years
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before signing away the rights to US manufacturer Deckers in 1983 for around pounds 10,000 - and those three pairs of Uggs a year.

He keeps a pair and gives the other two to son Luke, 33, a pro surfer, and daughter Bonnie, 30 - who has just moved to St Helens in Merseyside with her boyfriend after running an orphanage in Bali.

Talking about how he invented the boots, he said: "I'd already been making surfboards for 10 years. A friend of mine called Nat Young came into my workshop where I was making the boards and said, 'Here's some card, draw around my foot and make me a boot out of sheepskin'. He wanted to get 10 pairs to sell to his mates, so I made them.

"The sea is bloody cold in the Aussie winter, which is June time. I used to wear football jerseys to keep warm. UGG Classic Tall Boots
 Trouble was, they nearly drowned you.
Shane told the Sunday Mirror they were originally called "Ugh" because they were so UGLY. In fact, he says the sheepskins which he used to make the first boots still had bits of sinew and even meat attached.

If they ever got wet they would smell awful and if a dog got a sniff of them they would usually end up as its dinner.

Shane made the boots for 10 years before signing away the rights to US manufacturer Deckers in 1983 for around pounds 10,000 - and those three pairs of Uggs a year.

He keeps a pair and gives the other two to son Luke, 33, a pro surfer, and daughter Bonnie, 30 - who has just moved to St Helens in Merseyside with her boyfriend after running an orphanage in Bali.

"You couldn't wear wetsuits back then because they were big, thick rubber things for professionals only. Your feet used to freeze, so I thought boots for surfers was a brilliant idea.

People in the Aussie outback have been wrapping their feet in sheepskin for years. Trouble was you couldn't just wrap the skin around your feet and walk on sandy beaches or roads, it just wouldn't work. I knew they'd have to be modified.

"I found a man at a surfing competition called Mr Spencer who could attach soles to them. After that I neveUGG Classic Short Bootsr looked back.

"He made them in his garden shed. The quality of the sheepskin got better and the design was modified to make them look how they look now. I registered the trademark Ugh because some people's reactions to them was 'ugh!'.

"Eventually, Mr Spencer couldn't keep up with the orders, so I had to find a manufacturer in Botany Bay to make more of them.

"We went from producing about 20 to 30 a week to 300. Other footwear manufacturers began stealing the idea, which was a good sign, and I was always sending letters with a gentle reminder they were a protected trademark.

"In Oz, even if a name sounds like a trademark, it can't be used. So no one could call their boots Uggs or anything similar."

Shane - who divorced his ex-wife Lynne 20 yea