Bookmakers have stopped taking bets on this week's Brit Awards amid fears one of this year's winners may have been leaked.

That's entertainment: Weller expected to win

A series of £50 bets were placed on Paul Weller to win Best Solo Male within a few hours yesterday at William Hill shops in London. The firm said it had slashed odds on the former Jam frontman winning from 5/1 outsider to 1/5.

A source said: "This kind of betting only happens when someone knows something."

Weller is up against Ian Brown, James Morrison, Will Young and Mike Skinner from The Streets in the best male category at Wednesday night's event. A William Hill spokesman said: "We have stopped taking bets on all categories of the Brits bar one, the Best Single, because that is voted by the public. They are still voting as we speak and we will keep that open as long as we can.

"But we have stopped bets on all those voted for by the academy." Other bookmakers, including Paddy Power and Ladbrokes have followed William Hill's lead and stopped offering odds on other categories.

The William Hill spokesman said they are "fairly certain" of the Weller win. The voting academy is made up of 1,000 people from the industry.

A Brits spokesman said: "Every precaution is taken to keep results under lock and key."