At a hearing behind closed doors in the Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Scott Gordon ordered the pop star to turn over custody of her two young sons to ex-husband Federline later this week.

Last month, Judge Gordon said Spears engaged in "habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol" and ordered her to undergo random drug and alcohol testing twice a week as part of her custody dispute with Federline.

Spears was previously ordered to meet weekly with a "parenting coach" who was to observe and report back to the court about her parenting skills.

Both Spears and Federline must complete the court’s "Parenting Without Conflict" class.

The singer married Federline, known as rapper K-Fed, in October 2004, but filed for divorce last November, which became official on July 30.

The two had joint custody of their children, but, citing the 25-year-old’s erratic behaviour including late nights out with the children, K-Fed is fighting for a 70-30 split in child-rearing duties and for more money.

Last month, Spears’ lawyer, Laura Wasser, left the case and the same day, ahe was dropped by her management company, The Firm, just a month after she hired them for the run-up to the release of her new album on November 13.


Britney and K-Fed’s custody battle goes on - Sept 25 2007
Lawyers for Britney Spears and Kevin Federline have been back in a US court in an ongoing custody dispute involving the pair’s children.

K-Fed’s lawyer, Mark Kaplan, said the unscheduled court session was called to "refine certain areas" of a judge’s previous order. He would not elaborate.

Britney’s attorney, Sorrell Trope, confirmed that the hearing in Los Angeles involved issues related to the custody case but declined to comment further.

The troubled pop princess, 25, and her aspiring rapper ex, 29, are the parents of Sean Preston, two, and one-year-old Jayden James.

The court hearing came days after city prosecutors charged Britney with misdemeanour counts of hit-and-run and driving without a valid licence, claiming she smashed her car into another in a car park in August.

Kevin wants to increase his custody time with the former couple’s two young sons. They divide time with the children equally.

The first hearing date is on November 26, but the second date has been delayed from December 18 to early January, Kaplan said.

The judge last week issued orders directing Britney to undergo random testing twice a week after finding she is involved in "habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol".

If convicted on the driving changes, the Toxic singer could face up to six months in jail and a 1,000 dollar (£496) fine for each count.

She is scheduled to be arraigned in that case on October 10, but she is not required to appear.


Britney charged over ’hit-and-run’ - Sept 23 2007
Britney Spears has been charged over an alleged hit-and-run and driving without a valid licence in connection with a car park crash last month, prosecutors said.

If convicted, the singer could face up to six months in jail and a £500 fine for each count, said Nick Velasquez, spokesman for the city attorney’s office.

Messages left with Spears’ lawyers were not immediately returned.

The alleged incident occurred on August 6, Velasquez said.