Winehouse on trial for 'hitting' fan

(AFP/Getty)

The singer Amy Winehouse committed an act of "deliberate and unjustifiable violence" when she punched a dancer who had asked to take a photograph of her at a charity ball, a court heard yesterday.

The star was drunk and possibly on drugs when she hit Sherene Flash in the eye, reacting badly to a polite request in her dressing room at the event in Berkeley Square last September, it was claimed.

Ms Winehouse, who denies assault, was met by 60 photographers when she arrived at a packed City of Westminster magistrates' court. She cracked her knuckles and sang to herself as she gave evidence. She said that Ms Flash had towered over her and that she and her friend had become persistent. They had lunged at her, prompting Ms Winehouse to push Ms Flash away.

"It was more like an indication of 'Leave me alone, I'm scared of you'," she said. "I thought, people are mad these days, people are just rude and mad... I'm not Mickey Mouse, I'm a human being."

Ms Flash, who also admitted to being under the influence of alcohol, said the singer was "not in a good state". The trial continues.