Amy's new love 'a positive influence'

The step-father of Alex Haines, the 24-year-old rumoured to be dating Amy Winehouse, has claimed that his son "could only be a positive influence" on the singer.

Reports stated that Winehouse had started seeing Haines after telling jailed husband Blake Fielder-Civil that she wanted a divorce.

Haines's step-dad Roger Vine told the Daily Star that he found out about their relationship through a newspaper: "The first I heard of it was when I opened the papers in a café - I was shocked, yes.

"If I am asked for a view, I believe that some people thought it might be very good for her image to be photographed with a clean-cut young man like Alex.

"My son isn't a geek or anything, just clean-living. He's so far away from the image that's been painted of her - he doesn't drink much or do drugs. I do wonder if there isn't more behind it.

"When I called him about the photos he said that he had only been sent to pick her up. If you look at her in the pictures, it looks like she needs a bit of support. A lot of girls are very tactile in that state."

Winehouse recently received a police caution for slapping a man "with an open hand".