Britney released from hospital

Britney Spears was quietly released today from a hospital where she had been undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, a police official said.

“It occurred without any law enforcement intervention, and for the public that’s a good thing,” said Captain Sharyn Buck, commander of the North Hollywood police station, which covers the area of Spears’ home.

The troubled singer was hospitalised early on January 31, taken by ambulance under an extensive police escort to a psychiatric facility at UCLA Medical Center.

A Superior Court commissioner subsequently placed Spears and her estate under the temporary legal control of her father James and an attorney.

Spears, who is in a child custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline, was also briefly hospitalised earlier in January after police were called to her home when she refused to return her sons to a Federline bodyguard after a visit.

That trip to the hospital occurred amid a swarm of paparazzi.

Spears has since lost all visitation rights.