A Belgian judge has ruled that Madonna stole part of a hit single from a Belgian songwriter.

Salvatore Acquaviva accused the pop star of using four bars of his work for her 1998 hit Frozen.

A judge in Belgium town Mons has just ruled in the writer's favour, says his lawyer Victor-Vincent Dehin.

Record companies EMI, Sony, and Warner Music were ordered to stop the single being broadcast in the country and get it out of shops. Sales of Madonna's Ray of Light album, which features Frozen, must also cease.

"We tried to reach a friendly agreement," said Dehin, "but they didn't want to negotiate so I sued for plagiarism."

He will now seek compensation for Acquaviva, but has not revealed how much he wants. "They have stolen a song," he commented, "so they have to pay the value of the song."