Spruced-up Amy heads for the dock

Amy Winehouse looked tanned and relaxed as she left home today to attend court for allegedly hitting a fan.

Dressed up: Amy Winehouse with her dad Mitch today Dressed up: Amy Winehouse with her dad Mitch

She pleaded not guilty to lashing out at Sherene Flash when the fan asked to take a photograph during a ball in Berkeley Square last September.

Flash claims Winehouse, 25, agreed, but as the picture was being taken threw a punch, hitting her in the arm and cheek.

Winehouse, wearing a flower-print minidress and black cardigan, looked healthy as she left her Barnet home. Her cab driver dad Mitch escorted her to City of Westminster Magistrates' Court.

She was charged with common assault earlier this month after returning to Britain following a two-month break in the Caribbean. The charge means the singer's US work permit was denied, costing her the chance to perform at next month's Coachella festival in California, where she was due to join acts including Sir Paul McCartney.

Meanwhile Mitch Winehouse told Closer magazine she is planning a "heart-to-heart" with estranged husband Blake Fielder-Civil. Mr Winehouse, who blames Fielder-Civil for his daughter's drug addiction, said: "She's guilty of loving him, stupid girl."

Winehouse's trial is due to start on 23 July.