Britney's abandoned car impounded by police

Troubled Britney Spears' car has been impounded after police found it abandoned in the street.

Police said Spears was driving on Monday night when she had a flat tyre on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Police spokesman Karen Smith said Spears left the car unattended and as it was blocking traffic it was towed away.

Police said it was unlikely the 26-year-old pop star would be given a parking ticket because the car was disabled when it was left in the street.

"She probably will have to pay to get her car out of the impound," Ms Smith said.

Spears was admitted to hospital last week after a stand-off at her home that was triggered by a custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline over the couple's two young sons.

A court commissioner took custody of her children from Spears the next day.

The singer has had a series of problems involving her car in recent months. In October, she ran over a photographer's foot.

It emerged later that there was a scuffle between a photographer and a security guard as Spears entered an LA hotel two hours after her car was towed away.

The pop star was not to blame for the fight at the Four Seasons Hotel, the police spokeswoman said.

"She was leaving the hotel when one of the paparazzi and a security guard at the hotel had a scuffle," Ms Smith said.

The photographer had left the hotel by the time police officers arrived, and no one was arrested. The hotel's head of security did not respond to a message for comment.

Police said the impounded car was her new Mercedes-Benz.

A towing company employee who answered the phone yesterday said he did not know if the car was still there. He said storage charges were US$35.20 (€23.93) a day.

According to the celebrity website tmz.com, Spears got a lift home from Sunset Boulevard from a member of the group of the paparazzi photographers who follow her everywhere. Then it was off to the Four Seasons.