Winehouse used 'unjustifiable violence'

Amy Winehouse has been accused of using "deliberate and unjustifiable violence" against a dancer who approached her at a charity ball.

The 25-year-old's two-day trial for assaulting Sherene Flash at the event last September got underway this morning.

The singer is alleged to have punched Sherene Flash in her right eye at the summer ball in Berkeley Square, central London, when a friend of hers drunkenly stepped into a photo of the pair.

According to the BBC, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard that Winehouse was asked "politely" by Flash for a picture with her and the star reluctantly agreed. However, she lost her temper when Flash's friend Kieran Connelly tried to get into the photo.

Prosecutor Lyall Thompson continued: "This was a deliberate assault by Miss Winehouse. She reacted badly to a polite request."

Thompson said that Winehouse was under the influence of alcohol or "some other substance" when she allegedly struck Flash.

He told the court that the star had claimed that she felt "offended" and "intimidated" when she told Flash that she wanted to say goodbye to someone before taking the photo and Flash had said that it could wait.

The singer has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case continues.