Radio DJs create Britney panic

Two radio DJs created panic with a hoax which claimed Britney Spears and boyfriend Justin Timberlake had died in a car crash.

Distraught fans flooded emergency services phone lines in Los Angeles after the claim was made on Dallas radio station KEGL-FM by two shock-jocks who call themselves Kramer and Twitch.

The broadcasters told listeners to the rock music station both stars had been killed in a crash in California, prompting a rumour which spread via the Internet to New Zealand.